Kamen Rider Jayd: ReRolled
by guncannon109
Summary: Dice, a simple game of chance. People doubt the power in such a gamble. However, in that single cast of a block there are many things that can instantly be decided. Choices made, strengths earned, motions carried. With such a power comes people seeking to use it, and one such user shall rise from the shadows to claim it and wield that power like no other has done before.
1. 1st Revolution: The Hungerer Part 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: ****This a remake of a previous project under the same name "Kamen Rider Jayd." After attempting to revive this story in my head I felt it best to simply rework the early chapters. For new readers, welcome, and I hope you enjoy the ride. For those returning, please bare with me as I rework the old chapters (which will be released two chapters at a time) and lead into the new story of Kamen Rider Jayd! Now, please continue reading.**

**Kamen Rider Jayd: Re:Rolled**

Deep within an endless cavern of blood red cables that was drenched in the smell of rotting flesh and decaying bones, a six winged seraph hung from a ring made from the bones of a serpent by her knees. The ring itself was suspended by a rusted chain over a bottomless bit made from the same cables as the rest of the cave, torn cut up and withered human arms reaching out from the gaps of the cables as the wailing agony of tormented souls writhed out from the mouth of the cave.

The seraph stared up at the souls within the pit beneath her and let out a tired sigh, "Why must I act as the jailor of the damned?" She muttered to herself.

"It cannot be helped sister Selias," a sly male voice echoed from a red flame from over her right shoulder, "the Death Lord was destroyed."

"Yeah, well I'm sick of watching them day after day," Selias groaned, "I'm an emissary of war... Not a gardener."

"Sister," a cold female voice cooed out from a vibrant blue flame that ignited over Selias' left shoulder, "you are questioning the will of the usurper, are you?"

Selias let out a huff, "No," she crossed her arms, "I'm just bored, alright."

"Then command one of your minions to round up a fledgling or to," the calm blue flame cooed to the seraph, "would that not lighten your spirit?"

"I am lacking in my quota a bit..." Selias muttered to herself, her amber wings flaring up from their relaxed position as a smirk came to her face, "Grak'nar!" She roared out into the abyss, "your spire commands you!"

The cavern shifted and shook, causing the screams in the pit beneath Selias to grow louder and more violent as a hole opened up in the wall close to the mouth of the pit.

"What do you ask of me..." A deep beastly voice snarled out from the void, "my lord?"

"Bring me a fledgling," Selias eyed the void, "and make sure its a potent one."

**First Revolution: Strangers Meet! Cast the Die of Fate!**

Present Day: Hawkmorne, Michigan

The city awakens to a bright Saturday morning. The sun was shining, and the soft chirp of birds along side the drowning cry of cicadas filled the air. All of a sudden, a loud thud shook through a suburban neighbourhood which was followed by a wave of shouting so loud that it caused several flocks of birds to vacate the area.

"JILL!" a teenaged caucasian boy with short messy blond hair shouted from the floor just outside his bedroom, "GET BACK HERE YOU LITTLE RUNT!"

He wore baggy grey cargo shorts tethered up by a simple brown belt, red socks that went up to his ankles and a white t-shirt tampographed with a logo in the style of a heart made of fire adorned by a crown on the top of it. Above the logo were the words "Queen of Hearts" in bold black letters, the numbers 2018 in the same font just below the logo.

"NO WAY!" Shouted a girl about half the boy's age from the other end of the hall. She held up a small black box and flaunted it in front of the boy, "If you want whatever this is back you better ask politely!"

The girl had spiked up red hair, sticking her tongue out as she ran barefoot through the house in a red t-shirt marked with a star on the front and blue athletic shorts.

The boy grunted, "NO WAY IN HELL IS THAT HAPPENING!" He shouted as he clawed his way to his feet and chased after Jill.

Jill ran down the stairs, the boy following shortly after. The two ran into the kitchen where a man stood by a white stove on the side, preparing food for the two children who were acting like, well, children. The boy was about to grab Jill before the girl raised her arms over her face and let out a scream.

"DAD!" She shouted, "TREY'S BEING MEAN TO ME!"

"Oh is he now?" A grown man with Jill's hair color but combed back in a simple but stylish manor asked, setting breakfast onto the table as he looked Jill in the eye. "But who went into his room and stole from him I wonder?"

Jill's eyes shot open, "B-But!" She pointed a finger at her brother, "Saber was following direct orders from her commander to wake the underling!"

"And you did well my champion," her father, Owen Hart, smirked, "but your methods are something that I cannot condone." He motioned his head to Trey, "now right the wrong and apologize, or this civil war will not end."

Jill huffed then turned to Trey, "Fine, as you wish," she handed the box to her brother. "The mighty Saber apologizes, and returns her spoils to their rightful place of rest."

"Thank you," Trey swiped the box from her then pointed a finger at her sister, "now don't do it again."

"Another happy ending," Owen laughed, patting the back of a chair before pulling it out for Jill. "Now, who wants breakfast?"

"YES!" Jill cheered, shooting her arms into the air as she approached the table, "Bestow your offerings of meat and grog upon the Mighty Saber!"

"Well for meat we have bacon and eggs," Owen said as he helped Jill into her chair, "however we are sadly all out of grog. Will orange juice work as a substitute?"

Jill narrowed her gaze upon her father, crossing her arms as she was placed into her seat. She then nodded with a powerful grunt.

Just beyond the kitchen window sat the Hart's fenced in backyard, a small peaceful plot of land that contained a small jungle gym, a garden and a shed along the fence.

From that shadow cast by where the shed met the fence at an extreme angle, a pair of bone white claws erupted from the smallest gap between the two. Prying its claws apart, the beast they belonged to ripped open a hole in reality between the mortal plane and the endless tunnel of blood red cables he spawned from. With a sniff of his snout, the beast stepped out into the mortal world to allow the hole to close, revealing himself to be a pale blue muscle bound wendigo covered in scars with a broken horn atop his head and a large spike driven into shoulder.

Sniffing some more, his gaze soon fell upon the house of Trey and his family. The beast licked its lips before smirking.

"Fledgling…" he snarled.

He took one step forward, only for a loud clang of swinging steel to rip through the air towards his throat. Quickly whipping his head to the side, he caught a curved blade with his claw only inches from his face.

Focusing his gaze on the owner of the blade, his smirk faded as he laid eyes upon a hooded warrior clad in a jade green coat gripping the sword he had blocked tightly in their right hand with an identical blade held in a sheath on their back.

"A network rider?!" He grunted, tightening his grip on the blade he held.

The hooded warrior bashed the beast back with their shoulder then delivered a slash with their right hand blade that was strong enough to send the beast spiraling to the ground.

Raising their free hand to their forehead, the rider saluted the beast before flicking their hand off to the side. "Yo."

After breakfast, Trey stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror after putting on black stud earrings, a tiny bit of eye liner. He glared at his hair, tightly gripping a comb in his hand as he let out an irritated growl.

Owen poked his head into the bathroom door, raising a brow, "Hair fighting with again?" Trey simply nodded. "You try the gel I got you?" Trey nodded again.

Trey then huffed, looking to his dad with defeat, "I just want my damn hair to cooperate."

"You sound more and more like your mother every dad," Owen said, patting his son on the head with a grin as he picked up a brush. "Her hair always gave her trouble too."

"Then what exactly am I supposed to do with it?" Trey asked, eyeing his father in the mirror.

"Don't fight it," Owen told him as he began brushing through his son's wild hair, "work with it."

Trey's eyes widened as his hair was tamed with every stroke his father took with the brush, making it neater but still maintaining the overall style.

"How's that?" Owen asked, placing a hand on Trey's shoulder.

Trey smirked then nodded, "Perfect."

"Not as perfect as what's ahead of you," Owen pinched his son's cheek, "isn't today the day?" Trey blushed, managing a nod. "Then you better get going, doesn't the Dragon's Nest open soon?"

"You bet it does! Thanks dad!" Trey barked, grabbing a red sweater on the way out. The sweater bore the outline of a gold diamond on the chest with a solid gold heart in the center of the diamond.

"Today is the day," he repeated to himself, tying his sweater around his waist as he marched down the upper hallway towards a flight of stairs, "today's the day you're gonna tell him."

He leapt down the stairs to the landing below, now just in front of the door to the house. Catching his breath, he looked to the living room. His center centered on a photo sitting atop the mantel of a fireplace, the photo depicting a woman with his hair and skin color and even the same violet eyes he had. She wore a red dress, her hair done up in an over the shoulder braid.

"Wish me luck mom," he said with a grin, blowing a kiss to the photo.

"Wish you luck with what?" Jill called out from the couch on the wall coming down from the stairs.

Trey's gaze darted to his sister, his heart grinding to a halt as he took in a big gulp as his sister stared at him with a portable gaming device in her hands.

"Well Trey?" She asked, continuing to play well without even looking. "The mighty Saber asked you a question."

"Oh I heard you the first time," he breathed, grabbing his keys and wallet, "but the answer is none of your business."

Jill raised a brow, "It's about that Mike guy you and told are always talking about with dad, isn't it? The one that runs that game store?"

Trey was beginning to sweat, "What? No!" He laughed it off, dodging his sisters gaze as he headed for the door. "Just go back to your game, okay?"

Jill shrugged, turning her gaze back to her game as Trey unlocked the door. "He's out of your league you know."

Trey felt a sharp jab to his heart, collapsing to his knees as he clung to the door. "And what makes you say something like that?!" He glared at his sister, his face now bright red. "Not that it's like that!... Which it isn't!"

"Well for starters he's like, three years older than you," Jill said, keeping her eyes on her game, "he owns his own business and I'm pretty sure he can drive." He motioned her hand over her brother, "Meanwhile…"

Trey's gaze sharpened upon Jill, "Meanwhile what?" He said with a slight snarl to his voice.

"Have you even given what you're doing a thought since you got out of high school?" Jill asked her, still with her eyes on her game. Trey didn't answer, Jill simply shrugged, "figured."

Suddenly, the couch Jill was lying on flipped over with the girl toppling to the floor as the couch violently crashed into the wall.

"Wh-What the hell?!" Jill gasped, grabbing her game device and pausing before looking up only to see Trey looming over her, glaring back at her with eyes glowing with a rage filled red.

The girl was silenced, shaking under the couch as Trey growled like a beast while gripping the couch with a single hand.

This only lasted a moment however, as seconds later Trey shook his head as his eyes returned to normal.

"What the…" Trey said, dazed as he looked upon the couch in the wall. He released it, gasping in shock the scene in front of him. "Jill… what did I-"

Before he could finish speaking, Jill climbed to her feet, gaming device clutched in her hand, and punched him hard in the gut.

"FREAK!" She screamed, running off upstairs seconds later as she began to sob.

Trey's heart sunk as he watched his sister run off, his gaze falling to his hand the moment she disappeared upstairs. He held out his hand, feeling his entire being start to shake, "Freak?"

From atop her ring of bones in the network of cables, Selias watched the previous scene unfold from an amber flame before her.

"His awakening has already begun," she said with a sharp huff. With a narrow gaze, she looked over to a second flame just over her shoulder, "Grak'nar! Make contact with him now!"

"I am trying to my lord!" A voice growled from the flame, "But it seems I hit a complication!"

Selias raises a brow, "Complication?"

Outside in the human real. The pale blue wendigo snarled, gripping a deep wound on his arm as he leapt from room top to roof top while the midday sun beat down upon him.

"A network rider..." He growled, looking over his shoulder to the hooded warrior who leapt from rooftop to rooftop in tandem with the beast named Grak'nar. They were only two rooftops behind him, their gaze fixed firmly upon him.

"Is the fledgling with them?" Selias' voice echoed in the back of his mind.

"No my lord," snarled the beast, "they forced me away from it."

Selias let out a long tired huff, "Then fall back to the network for now. Fledgling or no fledgling you're of no use to me dead."

"Yes my lord," Grak'nar nodded, slashing his claws through the air causing a rip to the network of cables to open.

He jumped through it then hurled himself inside it. Just behind the beast, a sharp gasp echoed from a green gemstone on a gauntlet worn by the hooded network rider.

"S.Y.D.!" A male voice called out to the warrior.

"Already on it!" The warrior told the voice from their gauntlet.

Drawing their second blade off their back and gripping both swords within their now tightened grasp, the hooded warrior darted forward and slashed Grak'nar across his back as he leapt into the rip in reality.

"GYAHHH!" Grak'nar roared in agony, whipping his head around with an audible crack of his neck and a snarl to his voice as he glared back at the hooded warrior.

Pulling himself back, he lunged forward and bashed the hooded warrior in the head with his own with enough force to send them stumbling back with sparks flying off the hooded warrior in the process. The hooded warrior held their head, shaking some to recover from the hit before looking back up to the beast.

From within the rip in reality, Grak'nar smirked at the hooded warrior before waving at them as the rip closed around them and vanished from sight.

With a huff, the hooded warrior struck the brick rail of the roof they currently stood upon. "He got away!" They sighed.

"S.Y.D. remember what is important," Eli's voice echoed from the gemstone on S.Y.D.'s gauntlet.

"The fledgling," S.Y.D. held up their wrist, looking to the gemstone, "Grak'nar doesn't know where he is."

"But lucky for us…" a holographic projection of the city map came up from the gemstone, a single blue dot in the center of it and travelling westward. "we do."

On a bus travelling west, Trey sat staring at the long box in his hands. The box was open, showing a set of pale blue dice, each a different type save for a pair of D6s at the very end of the box.

"Did I buy two D6s?" He questioned as the bus came to a halt.

"Next stop, Ferris at Junction," the bus' electronic voice echoed from the speaker above Trey's head.

"Oh well," he shrugged, closing the box as he got up from his seat and hopped off the bus. Landing infront of a game shop, he took in a deep breath as he looked up to the sign that read 'the Dragon's Nest' and tightly clenched the box in his hand. "Alright.. this is it… the day you've been waiting for."

He stepped forward, pushing open the two doors and walking inside. His heart was pounding inside his chest as he entered the store, looking a male only a few years older than him.

He was heavyset with combed back drown hair and glasses. He was well dressed, a simply but stylish blue button up shirt and black jeans with a silver watch on his right wrist. He also wore black running shoes and simple white ankle socks.

Trey coughed, beating his chest with his fist three times to steady his heart as he looked upon the male behind the desk. "H-Hey Mike…" he waved at him awkwardly.

The man behind the desk looked up from the desk, adjusting his glasses, "Oh… Trey right?" He asked, pointing to the young man at the door. "You're back again for D&D I'm guessing?"

Trey blinked, his heart beginning to fluttered before he nodded, "D&D.. yes, that's what I'm hear for."

Mike looked to the clock, squinting at it for a second to read that it was five minutes to one, "You're a little early.. we normally don't start until five."

"Oh I know," Trey came forward and took a seat at one of the tables towards the back of the store, "I was just you know, hoping to hang out a bit?"

"Nothing better to do I'm guessing?" Mike laughed a bit.

Trey let out a breath, then forced a laugh of his own, "Something like that."

"Still got your character sheet?" Mike asked. Trey held up a sheet of paper. "And you remember fully how Holy Wrath works?"

"Hits enemies on even numbers, damages caster and nearby party members on odd," Trey said with a sigh, "Is that even an official spell?"

"I threw in a few high risk high reward spells of my own design, some players are okay with others not so much," Mike grinned, shrugging as he explained. "You should have Zack show you my warlock ability Hand of Wreckoning if you think your paladin has the biggest cross to bare."

"Talk to Zack?" Trey raised a brow, "You think he'd give me the time of day after I blew us all up the past two games?"

"You never know until you try, right?" Mike told him. He then pulled out a deck of cards. "Listen, todays pretty slow so…" he held up the deck as he came over to the table, "you down for a few games of War?"

"Just you and me?" Trey blinked.

Mike gave him a look, "You see anybody else here?"

Trey blushed, scratching the back of his head. "Yeah, sorry.." he laughed out of embarrassment, "I'd love to."

Hours flew by as the two played game after game, with Mike taking a break every now and again to handle customers whenever they came in before returning to his game with Trey. As the clock drew closer to the five, Mike let out a heavy chuckle.

"Geez Trey, how many games is that you've one now?" Mike asked as he collected up all the cards and began shuffling them again.

Trey simply shrugged, "Two hundred and twenty-six out of two hundred and thirty-three?" He said, grinning as he watched Mike collect up all the cards. "But who's counting?"

"You, clearly," Mike laughed as he placed the deck down on the table, "where'd you get your insane luck?"

"I was born with it I guess," Trey replied.

Well, it's getting close to game time," Mike told him, "wanna see if we can fit in a few more rounds?"

"Actually Mike," Trey gulped, looking Mike in the eye, "there's something I've been meaning to tell you."

Mike looked at him with a grin, "Well go on, spill it already."

Trey took in a deep breath, placing both his hands firmly on his lap as he looked deeper into Mike's eyes. "Okay…" he breathed out, "you see Mike… I-"

Just as Trey was about to speak further, the door to the front of the shop swung open with the chime of a bell as three men who looked to be around Mike's age came through. The two on the side were rather large in width and height, the rightmost one having long hair that went down to his back with the leftmost one having a clean buzz cut.

In the center of the both of them stood a rather average sized man however with tanned skin and clean cut black medium length hair. He wore a black leather jacket and a green t-shirt with the outline of a dragon on it. His jeans and shoes looked expensive, like they were fresh off the shelf.

"Oh, hey Noah," Mike said to the leftmost man with a buzz cut, then turning to man with long hair on the right, "Kevin."

Trey meanwhile glared at the man in the center of the trio, "Zack."

"So Trey, back again to bring down the whole party with your holy wrath?" Zack raised a brow as he Mike and Noah approached the table, "or would you rather play your class as intended this time?"

Trey gritted his teeth, glaring up at Zack as he balled his hands up into a pair of tight fists. Planting his feet firmly on the ground, Trey then shot up to look Zack in the eye with a beastly glare and a snarl under his breath.

"Zack…" Trey muttered, "do you have to right now?"

"What?" its not my fault you suck at this game," Zack scoffed, digging his hands in his pockets. "Honestly, I don't even bother trying to-"

"ZACK!" Mike suddenly barked. The room went silent, all eyes turning to Mike who starred back at Zack with fury in his eyes. "Back off, okay?"

Zack stared at Mike, then let out a small sigh, "Alright.. let's just get this game started."

{End of Part A}

{End of Part B}

Atop the roof of the Dragon's Nest, the hooded warrior stared into the blue dot on the map that was being projected from their gauntlet. Their gaze had narrowed upon it, making the occasional glance towards the streets below every now and again as their grip tightened around the hilts of their swords.

"Any minute now," they muttered under their breath.

Back in the game shop, a lone D6 die lay in the center of the table. The eyes of Kevin, Noah and Zack loomed over it, the trio glaring intensely at the five that was atop the small pale blue block.

"Holy wrath deflects upon its user and the party," Mike told everyone, looking over his books at the head of the table, "everyone roll for dexterity to evade."

The party let out a heavy sigh, picking up their dice and rolling. Trey meanwhile felt his heart sink to the bottom of his heart, picking up his own D20 and letting it drop to the table as his gaze slowly drifted to his lap.

"Seventeen," Zack called out, "Fifteen," called Noah, "Dammit… fourteen." Kevin huffed, crossing his arms before slumping back into his chair while shooting a glare at Trey who sat next to him.

"Alright, so Kadgath and Yezak avoid the hit while Dorn gets blown back with heavy injuries," Mike told everyone.

Kevin grumbled, "Fucking hell."

Mike just gave him a look, "Oh relax. With your armor class you're hanging on with three hit points." His grin returned as he looked to the man at the far end of the table, "Trey? What about you?"

Trey blinked then jumped slightly as he looked back up to Mike, "Huh? Oh! Right!" His eyes lowered to the D20 in front of him, "I got a twenty."

Kevin's eyes shot open, "YOU'VE GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING!" he roared, chucking one of his dice at Trey's head. "Thats like, the third nat twenty you've rolled in a roll on that stupid spell!"

"Yeah Mike," Zack chuckled, looking to the game master at the head of the table, "isn't there a way to negate this whole thing, considering Kevin was the only one to bite the dust on that one?"

Mike stared at the party, Zack, Kevin and Noah staring back at him, "I mean…" Mike let out a heavy sigh, "I guess we could put to a vote." Suddenly, Zack, Kevin and Noah all raised their hands. Mike blinked, then laughed, "Alright Dorn, the shock from Holy Wrath propels you into a pile of rocks that scatter upon impact with your mangled and torn body. Out from the rocks however comes a small spark of light."

"Spark of light?" Kevin asks, "what is it?"

"Roll for perception," Mike said.

Kevin rolled his die, "Sixteen."

"Though you are unsure of what it is you're looking at, you sense the warmth like a mother coming off of it," Mike said. "In the back of your head you hear a faint fairy-like voice. 'Thank you for freeing me adventurer. As payment, I shall heal the wounds inflicted upon you as you fell."

"Sweet!" Kevin clapped his hands together, "Am I up to full now?"

Mike shook his head, "Only the damage from Holy Wrath was negated." As Mike explained what happened in game, Trey quietly collected his things, slipped on his hoodie and headed for the door of the shop. "Trey?" Mike muttered, he and the others looking over to Trey as he cracked opened the door, "where are you going?"

Trey whipped his head back to face the guys, "Oh, uh…" he murmured, feeling himself begin to sweat under the sudden spot light. "My sister!" He snapped his finger, "my dad will kill me if I leave her home alone too long."

"Okay…" Mike muttered quietly, "just, be safe okay?"

Without another word, Trey left the shop and closed the door behind him.

"So Mike," Zack called out, raising his hand, "now that Leroy is gone, we gonna start over or continue on without him?"

Mike let out a heavy sigh, looking over his books, "Just give me a sec, alright?"

Outside, Trey walked along the empty late night street with his gaze to the ground and hands into pockets.

"So much for telling him how I feel," said the defeated Trey as he kicked over an empty can. He planted his head into the palm of his hand, "Wouldn't be bad.. its just that, sometimes I just.. I just!"

"Wish you could disappear?" The voice of a beast whispered over Trey's shoulder, "Wish you could destroy it all?"

Trey balled his hand into a fist, the boy slowly nodding. "Yeah.. I wish that…" Suddenly, he felt a cold chill run down his spine. Trey then gasped, quickly turning to find him standing in the shadow of Grak'nar who loomed over him under a blood red moon that now hung in the sky.

Grak'nar chuckled, raising his claw at the young man. "So be it then," he snarled, grasping at Trey's throat and lifting him off the ground, "fledgling!"

Squirming in the beast's grasp, Trey managed to deliver a flurry of light kicks upon Grak'nar. The beast laughed, only to be stunned when from above came the hard slash of a blade which carved into the arm he held Trey and cut it clean off.

Trey, now free, fell to the ground and gasped when he saw the hooded warrior staying with their back to them between him and Grak'nar.

"Run!" Eli's voice called out from the gem on the warrior's gauntlet.

Trey simply did as he was told, picking himself up off the ground and darting down the street.

From within the network, Selias watched the previous scene transpire from a flame only inches away from her ring made of bones. She sucked her teeth, then sighed.

"Is he not living up to your standards, sister Selias?" A voice called out from a black flame under her shoulder.

"No, he is performing within reason," she told him, running her hand over the flame before her to get a close up of the hooded warrior, "it's the network rider and their navigator that's getting on my nerves."

"I see…" the black flame chuckled, "Then perhaps I can lend you one of my mimics, to assist your beast?"

"Maestro…" Selias glared at the black flame, "this isn't something I will regret if I allow it, is it?"

"Hardly," The black flame told her, the faint click of heels approaching the pit Selias hung above as the Maestro spoke, "it's just that this little flower of mine has been dying to bloom."

"Has she now?" Selias raised a brow at the shadowed figure that now stood before her, "very well.. send her out, before I change my mind."

Back outside the network, Trey darted down the empty city street while nearly stumbling over his own feet as his heart pounded heavier and heavier in his chest. He was almost out of breath, only to feel his spirits lift as he saw a police car in the distance.

"Thank god!" He ran forward, banging on the door of the car, "HEY! YOU GOTTA HELP ME!" He raised his fist to bang once more only to be frozen in place once he caught a good look at what was inside the car. "No way…"

Inside the car was nothing but a half eaten donut in the clutches of a skeleton that sat in the driver's seat. Upon Trey's mutter in disbelief, the skeleton turned its head and cackled at him.

Raised its hand, it slowly stood up and reached through the window causing Trey to jump back in terror. As the skeleton phased through the window and grasped towards Trey, it shifted into what could only be described as a girl dressed as a court jester with a pair of dog heads on her shoulders and a third dog head making up her mask which covered her face, save for the sick, twisted a joy smirk she wore as she grabbed Trey by the collar of his sweater.

The jester simply giggled "No way…" she said, mimicking Trey's voice exactly, ripping a bomb with a cackling clown face printed on it off of her skirt and hurling it at the ground. A similar cackling expression was present on the dog head on her left shoulder.

Smoke filled the air as the bomb exploded, Trey flying to the sidewalk opposite the car.

"Ow…" groaned Trey in pain as he hit the ground, holding his back while coughing as a result of the smoke.

Amidst the smoke echoed the loud clicking of heels, "You've gotta help me!" Echoed Trey's voice from the smoke as the jester emerged from the smoke, strutting toward Trey with one foot directly behind the other and a pair of bombs in her hand.

Her smirk remained the same, however the bombs in her hand bore a more sinister, angry expression as did the dog on her right shoulder. From his position on the ground, details of the jester were easier to make out. It was now clear that she wore a black spiked collar around her neck, along with cuffs in the same style around her wrists and ankles. She also wore a belt to keep up her skirt which was held together with a buckle in the shape of a bat.

"Wha… what are you?!" Pleaded Trey under the shadow of the jester.

The jester simply giggled. Crossing one leg in front of the other into a curtsey, she cocked her head at Trey then tossed both her bombs with an underhand throw at him. Against all odds, Trey managed to roll far enough away from the bombs just as they struck the ground and exploded to evade getting caught up in the blast.

He then quickly picked himself up off the ground, but by then it was too late. The jester had positioned herself directly beside him in the direction he had been fleeing, leaving only one way for him to go.

"Alright, now what…" Trey thought to himself, clenching his fists together as he stopped to catch his breath, "there's gotta be a way out of this!"

The jester cocked her head to the side, "No way…" she repeated Trey's voice as she shook her head slowly from side to side.

Trey shook where he stood for a moment, taking in a big gulp. Then, after a moment, his trembling suddenly stopped as he put on a smirk of his own. "Says you!"

Turning on his heel, he kicked off the ground and ran back the way he came from.

The jester's smirk widened ever so slightly as held out her open palm, a black flame forming in the center of it.

"Well?" Maestro's voice echoed from the flame, "did you do as instructed?"

The jester nodded.

"Good," the Maestro's voice echoed once again, "then leave Grak'nar to handle the rest."

The jester nodded once more, closing her fist around the flame. She then curtseied once again before a circle of black fire formed around her feet. The jester then sank into the circle, the circle going out once she fully submerged into the ground.

Back with the hooded warrior and Grak'nar, the pair were locked in a parry with Grak'nar clenching both the hooded warriors swords with one claw which had been crossed in an ex formation.

"Back off now gate keeper!" Barked the hooded warrior as she kicked off the beast and leapt back, "or it will be you ugly mug I'll hack off next!"

Grak'nar simply laughed, "Of course you realize-" he held up the stump of his arm, "this is nothing more than a scratch to me."

A ghostly green teather shot out from his stump, shooting past the hooded warrior and connecting to his severed arm that still lay on the ground. The hooded warrior just narrowly avoided the teather.

"Oh crap!" the hooded warrior gasped.

{Insert Battle Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

"THAT is the fear I hunger for," Grak'nar laughed, he said as the tether pulled his arm back to him, ghostly nails shooting out from the wound before plunging into his flesh to secure the connection.

Grak'nar charged head first at the hooded warrior, his claws flared out to either side of his body as he dashed towards them only to be knocked to the ground by one swift back handed punch to the face.

"That idiot, what's he doing back here?" The hooded warrior gritted their teeth, lowering their closed fist as they saw Trey approaching quickly from over the horizon.

"We'll have to finish this up quickly then," Eli's voice echoed from his gem, "before the fledgling reaches us."

The hooded warrior glared to the beast just over their shoulder, "Then what have you gotten on this one?"

"Based on our combat data with" Eli told the hooded warrior, "It's a beast type."

The hooded warrior slammed their fist down on her belt buckle, a green die ejecting itself from a cube shaped slot on the front of it before ripping off an orange die from a chain on the left side of their belt strap.

"Then this should be more than enough," they declared, turning on their heel to face Grak'nar as they slammed the die into their belt buckle.

"RE:ROLL!" shouted the buckle as the hooded warrior raised their hand above the cubed shaped slot to a horizontal dial that was just above it then gave it a hard spin. "HUNTER!" roared the buckle as the hooded warrior cast their arms out to the side, tossing away their swords as they scattered into green sparks while an orange flame erupted out from the buckle, "THE BURNING ARROW! FLY FREE!"

The orange flame rushed over the hooded warriors long coat, changing it from emerald green to amber orange and replacing the sword scabbards on their back with a quiver over their shoulder and a crossbow in their left hand.

"WHAT?!" barked Grak'nar, snarling at the hooded warrior as held his face from the hit, "What are you?!"

"I'm just a wandering Network Rider, Network Rider Jayd," the hooded warrior told them as they aimed their crossbow at the beast fiend, "that's all you need to know."

Grak'nar cackled, "Glad to know the name of my victim." He flared out his claws, then dashed towards the hooded warrior calling themself Jayd.

"Let's make this quick," she said to themselves before firing off five shots at the beast before her, each one making their mark sending the beast back a few feet.

The hooded warrior slammed their fist down on top of her belt buckle once again and replaced the orange die with a red one.

"FINAL ROLL!" their belt shouted as a loud charge up sound erupted from her bow. They spun the dial on their belt, spinning the die before it came to a halt as a white six appeared on it, "SIX! CRITICAL STRIKE!"

They pointed their bow at the beast and pulled back on the trigger, firing off a giant arrow at the beast and engulfing him in a powerful blast of fire.

{End Battle Theme]

As the smoke cleared the warrior pressed down on the top of their buckle, ejecting their die as their coat faded into a dull matt blue.

"You think we killed it?" the hooded warrior asked, flipping down their hood with a simple motion of their hands which revealed them to be young looking girl with deep green eyes and dark red hair.

"Fiends are often stubborn when it comes to dying," the voice from her gauntlet echoed, the gauntlet shifting into a simple silver chain that hung on the girl's wrist, "I feel we haven't seen the last of him just yet."

"Man what a pain," she let out a sigh before turning her attention to a pool of neon green fluid on the ground that the beast left behind, "Ah well," she said pulling off a small vial from her belt and scooping up a bit of the fluid, "At least we got something out of it."

"A small amount of Jaydite," Eli said, "better than nothing I suppose."

"HEY!" Trey shouted as he reached the girl warrior.

Suddenly, the girl grabbed Trey by the neck of his sweater and flipped him over before pinning him to the ground. Her gaze sharpened, raising a tight fist to his eye line with Trey gasping as a result.

"The fledgling," the voice from the girl's gem echoed.

"Oh yeah…" the girl lowered her fist, then released her hold on the boy beneath her, "kinda blanked there." The girl rose to her feet, then put the vial back on her belt alongside several others just like it. "You've got guts for a fledgling kid," she extended a hand to him, "you got a name?"

"Oh, it's a Trey- Trey Morgan-Hart…" Trey told her as he took her hand and climbed back up onto his own feet, "You?"

"They call me S.Y.D." she told him as she pulled out a pair of black dice, one with a gold trim and the other a silver trim. "Not like you'll need to know it for much longer."

"Huh?" Trey raised a brow, only to gasp when the red haired girl lunged forward and held the gold die to his chest and the silver one to his head.

"Heart gold, soul silver," the girl said, closing her eyes as a warm energy began to seep out from the dice and over Trey's body, "from the network, this fledgling I sever."

Trey felt his body grow weak. Before he could so much as process what was happening, Trey found himself standing in the middle of a white void in the arms of a spectral image of his mother. The pair floated weightlessly in the void, the woman's long yellow hair and elegant red dress able to flow freely as she gently patted the boy on the top of his head.

"It's going to be alright Trey," the woman cooed to Trey as his eyes began to close, "just sleep for now… and forget all about this."

**To be continued**

{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}


	2. 2nd Revolution: The Hungerer Part 2

**2nd Revolution: Jayd! Protector of the Unseen World!**

Late one night, the rain poured down over the Hart's family home as a twelve year old Trey stood at the front door. The door was open, his mother standing on the doorstep in a long red coat with her hood up. The woman, with tears in eyes and a shaking unsteady gaze, stared back at the child from over her shoulder.

"Mom?" the young Trey yawned, rubbing his eyes, "Where are you going?"

The grown woman's lip quivered, kneeling down to her child and wrapping her arms around him, "Trey… that's not something I can tell you," she said, patting her son on the head, "but there's something I need to do."

The young Trey blinked, looking to his mother before nuzzling into her and yawning some more, "Can't I.. go with you?"

Trey's mother shook her head, "I need you to stay here Trey." She pulled away from him, then reached for a silver heart shaped pendant that was tethered to a similar silver chain. "However, when the time comes you may find me if you'd like," she took the necklace off of herself the slipped it onto Trey.

Trey held the necklace, then slowly looked down to it. "Two hearts become one…" he read off, "Darkness is undone."

Trey's mother kissed him on the head, "Be strong for me," she cooed, a faint ringing becoming audible in Trey's ear, "okay Trey?"

Suddenly, Trey's eyes shot open. The boy found himself in his bed, still dressed from the night before only lacking his sweater. His hand clung tightly to the necklace from his dream which he wore around his neck. The ringing he heard before was even louder and now clearly coming from behind him.

In a daze, he rolled over to his cell phone buzzing like crazy. With a wince, he reached for it and answered it.

"Hello?" He yawned, bringing the phone to his ear.

"Trey?" Mike's voice echoed from the other end of the line, "Its Mike, you gotta minute?"

Trey sat right up, his heart going into a flutter. "Yeah! Totally!" He blushed, "There's actually something I was meaning to tell you yesterday but.. I never got the chance before Zack and his goons showed up."

"Huh… I see," Mike muttered, "Well, I got something to talk to you about too. You wanna go first?"

"Oh no, you first," Trey laughed nervously, "please."

"Well, okay… here goes," Mike let out a heavy breath, "Zack asked me to tell you… not to come to game night anymore."

Trey's heart sunk, "... What?"

"Dude, look I don't wanna do this," Mike pleaded, "but my hands are tied here. Zack told me it was either you stop going or all three of them walk."

"AND YOU'RE ON THEIR SIDE!" Trey snapped at him, tightening the grip on his phone.

"What?!" Mike shot back, "No! I just-"

"JUST FUCK OFF!" roared Trey. He didn't end the call as he whipped his phone at the wall, the device shattering to pieces upon impact. Trey then fell over onto his back as his eyes began to turn a light shade of red, tears forming in the corners of his eyes, "My life just sucks."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

Grak'nar huddled in a cave made of blood stained cables, the floors and walls of which were covered in scattered bones and rotting flesh.

"I'll kill them!" He snarled while biting into the remains of a human arm, the gashed in his arm repairing the more he are. "Next time I see that Network Rider! I'll kill them!"

"If you are so sure there will be a next time," Selias' voice echoed from over his shoulder.

Grak'nar gasped, turning around to see the dog based Jester standing behind him with Selias' amber flame in the palm of her right hand.

"Lord Selias…" Grak'nar swallowed the meat in his maw, "what brings you here?"

"You allowed the network rider to sever the fledgling's tie to our domain," Selias told him, "this failure, I hope you know, is unacceptable."

"He was… a potent one…" Grak'nar muttered. He hung his head, them bowed before the amber flame in the Jester's hand, "I accept whatever punishment you deem fit."

The amber flame loomed over Grak'nar's head in silence for a moment, then Selias spoke through it, "Very well… you punishment shall be-"

"Not necessary," Maestro's voice chimed in, Grak'nar and the amber flame turning to the jester's left hand to see it was now being held up and open with a black flame burning in the center of it.

"What to mean by that brother?" Selias asked.

"The network rider may have performed her ritual, but a fledgling the boy remains," Maestro explained, "and your window to add him to your pack of beasts my darling sister, is closing quickly."

"How? Selias snarled.

"He holds great anger, sure," Maestro said, "but the void of loneliness is spreading within him."

Selias laughed, "So you suspect he'll become one of your dolls then? A mere plaything?"

"They're called mimics, my darling sister," Maestro scoffed, "do not discredit them with such juvenile language."

"Mimic, doll, whatever you call them," amber flame turned to their servant, "Grak'nar the Hungerer.. you know what to do."

Grak'nar snarled, a smirk appearing on his face as he bowed before the amber flame held in the jester's hand, "Of course.. my lord."

Back in Trey's room, the boy lay asleep curled up in covers. As he slept, a pale hand inched its way from the end of his bed. Like a spider, the hand crept its way from where it first landed up the length of Trey's blankets before finally reaching his face. Flaring out its fingers, the hand lunged forward and grabbed hold of Trey's blanket cocoon before violently ripping it off his body.

"TREEEEEEYYYY!" Yelled Jill as she threw the blankets from off her brothers bed and onto the floor, Trey jumping awake as his sister loomed from above him, "YOU ATE THE REST OF MY HOT FUDGE MARSHMALLOW ICE CREAM! DIDN'T YOU?!"

"No…" Trey winced, holding his ears as he looked up to his sister, "why would I?"

Jill kicked the door open and marched up to Trey, "Liar!"

"UGH!" Trey groaned, sitting up and shoving his sister off his bed, "is this payback for me throwing you off the couch yesterday?"

"What are you talking about?" Jill looked to him and crossed her arms, "This isn't about something that didn't happen, this is about owning up to what you did!"

"Oh my god!" Trey got up from his bed and picked his sister up by the collar of her shirt and dragged her back over to the door, "I don't have time for this right now, just ask Dad to buy you more."

Jill frowned, "But it was a limited time offer!"

"Ugh, they just say that so kids like you will beg their parents to buy it," Trey groaned, "Besides, you eat too much crap as it is."

"You're mean!" Jill pouted beginning to cry.

"And you're annoying, now leave me alone," Trey barked back before slamming the door in his sister's face.

"I'M TELLING DAD!" Jill shouted from the other side of the door.

"I DON'T CARE!" Trey shouted back.

"Kid's today," a female voice called out, "No respect for other people's personal space."

"Tell me about it," Trey groaned. He paused for a moment then looked over to the side to see S.Y.D sitting at the end of his back with a small white bowl in one hand and a silver spoon in the other. She was clearly munching down on something, "GAH!" Trey shouted, jumping back and slamming into the door, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!"

S.Y.D. swallowed then looked over to Trey "Eating…" she blinked, "what does it look like I'm doing?"

"I can see that… but why?"

"I was hungry… duh?" S.Y.D. said as she continued to stuff her face.

"I don't have time for this!" Trey shouted as he walked over to the door and swung it open, "Get out!"

"After I'm done eating," S.Y.D. told him.

Trey looked at the bowl she had and raised an eyebrow, "What is that anyway?"

"Ice cream," S.Y.D. returned, "There wasn't much left, but it's pretty good," she licked her lips, "Gotta sat, hot fudge and marshmallow is a pretty odd combination, but I can't argue how tasty it is.

Trey's eyes shot open, "It was YOU! YOU did the THING!" He dashed out the door, "JILL! I KNOW WHO JACKED YOUR ICE CREAM!"

"Teenagers," S.Y.D. rolled her eyes, "so petty."

"You do realize that our mission will be compromised if his family finds out about us right?" Eli called out from the gem on S.Y.D.'s gauntlet.

"Don't you worry," S.Y.D. said, patting the gem, "I've got this."

Trey stormed down the hall until he reached the stairs leading to the ground floor of the house, "I swear I'm gonna kill that girl!" He reached for the rail as he felt a tug at his collar forcing him backward.

"Now now, there is no need for that kind of language," S.Y.D. said as she pulled Trey away from the rail and back into his room before throwing him down on the floor.

"What the hell is with you!" Trey demanded.

"Just give us a moment to explain," Syd pleaded.

"Us?" Trey raised an eyebrow, "what do you mean 'us'?"

"Me and Eli," Syd raised her gauntlet to Trey, "Say hi Eli."

"Greetings," Eli called out from the gauntlet.

"IT CAN TALK!" Trey shouted as he jumped to his feet.

"Shut it!" Syd smacked Trey across his face, "You wouldn't want your little sister to walk in on with some random girl do you?"

"But I'm not…" Trey muttered, then fell silent. After a moment, his eyes shot open. He then ran over to the door to his room, shut it and locked it before pushing his dresser in front of it. He then turned back to S.Y.D with a bow, "You were saying?"

S.Y.D stood there in silence, gawking at him unsure of what to say.

"Perhaps I should start us off," Eli called out. Syd raised her gauntlet so that Eli's gem was face to face with Trey, "Allow me to introduce ourselves. My name is Eli of the Emerald Wind, this my contractor S.Y.D. Together we are Network Rider Jayd, and we were tasked with protecting you from Gate Keeper attacks."

"S.Y.D.?" Trey questioned, looking to red head, "Those your initials or something?"

S.Y.D. shrugged, "More or less."

"Then why not just go by Syd?" Trey suggested.

"Syd?" The girl raised a brow. A faint but noticeable grin then appeared on her face, "I like it, Syd it is."

"Moving on with our previous subject," Eli spoke up, the gaze of both Trey and the newly named Syd looking back to his gem on Syd's wrist. "We apologize for the intrusion, but it seems we still have business with you."

"What kind of business?" Trey asked.

"What do you remember about last night?" Syd asked him.

"You mean before or after those two monsters attacked me?" Trey asked back.

Syd's eyes widened, "There was another one?!" She grabbed Trey by the collar of his shirt and looked him in the eye. Gulping sharply, Trey nodded. "Do you remember what the other one looked like?"

"I remember the face of a dog… but not much else," he hung his head, "I'm sorry. It was all too hectic to take notes."

"No, don't be sorry. It makes sense to be honest," Syd said, releasing her hold on Trey. "Unlike why there were two gate keepers in the same place at the same time."

"That's uncommon?" Trey asked.

"Not just uncommon," Eli said with a heavy sigh, "it's practically unheard of."

"Just like a fledgling who remains to be one after the severing ritual," Syd pointed out, giving Trey a look. She then grinned and patted Trey on the head, "You're something special Trey."

"Okay! Back up for second!" Trey demanded, holding his hands up in the air. "Fledgling? Gate Keeper? Network Rider? What does that all mean?"

The pair stared at Trey, Syd eyeing Eli's gem before raising a brow. "Still wanna handle this one?"

"Of course," Eli said, a table and set of chairs forming from his gem on Syd's bracelet. The table placed itself on the floor between the door and Trey's bed, with each chair being placed opposite each other. "Have a seat, Fledgling Trey."

Trey and Syd both sat down, Syd removing her bracelet from her wrist and placing it on the table with Eli's gem facing upward.

"Now then," Eli spoke, a diagram of the human body flaring up from the light of his gem. "This is a human? Correct?"

Trey nodded, "Yeah? Looks like one."

"Except it is not," Eli told him, an egg appearing in the center of the diagram. "It is a fledgling, with unborn potential housed inside."

"So a fledgling is a human…" Trey looked to Syd and pointed to her, "with the potential to become like Syd? A powerful warrior?"

Syd nodded. "Exactly," Eli continued, "however…" a pair of red eyes appeared in the projection above the human diagram. "If a Gate Keeper gets to the fledgling, and forces them to succumb to their negative emotions..."

"Negative emotions?" Trey questioned.

"Unreachable desire," Syd began to list off, "crippling grief or festering loneliness…" she then glanced up and looked Trey dead in the eye as the egg within the human diagram began to shake and crack, "everlasting anger."

The egg shattered, the human diagram transforming into the outline of a beast, "The fledgling will die, and a new Gate Keeper will be born from the remains."

Trey felt a chill run down his spine at the image before him. "How come I'm only hearing about this now?"

"Gate Keeper's are crafty, and never appear on your plane of existence," Eli explained. "Then will stalk their prey, manipulating what they can from their plane, and when they have what they want within their reach-" Eli's projection turned bright red, the light engulfing the whole of Trey's room as a skull shaped moon was projected onto the ceiling, "-they'll drag their prey into their realm."

"Okay…" Trey nodded along, "then how did you guys get in there? Wouldn't the gate keepers have methods if keeping you out?"

"Thankfully our commander won't allow that," Syd smirked. "She's just as crafty as they are, designing weapons that can cut their way into the Gate Keeper's domain. Whenever they've tried to lock us out, our commander adjusts our tools and breaks us back in."

"Sounds like this commander of yours is a pretty big deal…" Trey said, leaning back in his chair to get a good look at Syd and Eli. "What kind of person are they?"

"Sorry Trey, but that's classified," Syd told him as she stood up, picking up Eli's bracelet and putting it back on her wrist. As Eli was removed, the chairs disappeared along with the table. "Can't have anyone outside our group know the one in charge you know."

"WHA!" Trey shouted as he fell to the floor, a loud thud shooting through the whole house. Rubbing his ass, he looked up to Syd and simply nodded, "Yeah… that makes sense I guess."

"Besides, you knowing isn't required for my job," she looked him in the eye and extended a hand to him. "I go where my mission takes me, protect local fledglings, and cut down any Gate Keepers that after them."

Trey took her hand and hoisted himself up, "Didn't you already do that?"

"Afraid not," Eli said with a regretful tone to his voice, Syd hanging her head some. "You remain a fledgling.. And the Gate Keeper that was pursuing you…"

Trey stood there for a moment, then his eyes widened in shock. "THAT THING IS STILL ALIVE!"

Syd nodded, "Unfortunately."

"Great! Just what I needed!" Trey yelled as he pulled his hand away from Syd, turning his back to her as he marched off and crossed his arms, "This is just perfect."

"Trey…" Syd quietly muttered, taking a step towards him, "we're just trying to protect you."

"Then get out," Trey muttered.

"Fledgling Trey!" Eli's voice boomed out from his gem. "You were dragged into the Gate Keeper's domain, a fate rare for your kind to survive! Let us help you-"

"I SAID GET OUT!" Trey roared, looking back to the pair behind him with anger in his eyes and a snarl to his voice.

Syd let out a small sigh, "Alright," she bowed, "as you wish." She went to the window and climbed out, lowering the blinds before shutting the window behind her and perching herself on top of Trey's roof.

She let out a small huff, then held her head, "Man.. I just don't get people."

"As true as that might be, we have other matters to attend to," Eli called out from the gem on Syd's wrist, "We should focus our attention on finding the Gate Keeper we failed to kill last night."

"True," Syd said with a grin turning her attention to Eli, "have you by any chance been able to pick up a signal yet?"

"Yes," Eli returned, "It's faint but I'm picking up Gate Keeper activity not too far from here. Estimate distance, three kilometers and moving."

Syd smirked, "Alright, then let's get a move on."

Syd pulled out a deep purple die and hit a small switch on her belt buckle.

"GAME START!" Her belt roared as she slammed her die into the slot on her buckle and pulled her hood over her head before giving the dial on her belt a hard spin, "CLASS ROLL! STALKER!" Her coat turned the same deep purple as the die, her light armor forming around her as her hood darkened to allow only a simple silver face mask and vibrant yellow eyes, "Deadly Daggers! Strike the Night!"

Within the network of cables, Grak'nar sat against one wall while glaring angrily at the opposite wall. Against that wall was a rusty cage with a pair of adult sized skeletons inside it, the bones of which had been picked clean.

"Mommy!" Whimpered a child's voice in the back of his mind, "Please, let me eat!"

Grak'nar snarled, balling his claw into a fist as he stood up and headed over to the cage. He trembled, tears running down his face as he reached for the skull of one of the skeletons and picked it up.

"I.. I just wanted to eat, mommy…" he muttered under his breath.

"You're choosing now to get sentimental my child?" The voice of Selias echoed through the tunnels like the coo of a dove.

Grak'nar jumped, looking beside him to see Selias right in front of him with her hand on the top of the cage. "No my lord," he shook his head, "just uneasy."

Selias' harsh gaze softened upon her subject, "You're scared to face that network rider again… aren't you?"

Grak'nar nodded, "Yes… my lord."

Suddenly, Selias flexed the hand she had atop the cage, causing it to catch fire. Grak'nar gasped, stepping backwards before looking to Selias with a shaken gaze, "W-Why would you do that?!"

"To show you my resolve," Selias smirked as she cupped Grak'nar's cheek, "the same resolve I sensed in you the day I freed you from this cage." She guided the windigo's gaze back to the burning hunk of metal, "Don't tell me that resolve is gone because of one small hurtle."

Grak'nar watched as the bones inside the cage cracked and withered to ash under the heat of the fire they were engulfed. The beast then snarled, narrowing his gaze upon the remains,

"Of course not…" he said, balling up his claws, "my lord."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Later that night Trey lazily waltzed down stairs and into the living room. He paused, looking at Jill who was laying bellyside down on the couch while gaming on her hand. Her feet were up in the air while a bag of chips and a bottle of soda sat beside her. Trey stares at her for a long while, his hands burning and heart sinking as he recalled him throwing his sister from the couch the other day.

He swallowed deeply then stepped forward towards Jill, only for Jill to look up from her game mid chip and stare back at Trey. The two just stood there for a moment, Trey feeling himself begin to sweat as Jill ate her chip then slowly raised a brow at him. He opened his jaw ever so slightly as if he was about to speak, but before he said so much as a single word, he swerved on his heel and darted right into the kitchen.

"Kaaaaaaaayyyyy?" Jill muttered to herself as she watched her brother's journey to the kitchen, only to shrug and shove many more chips into her mouth.

Once in the Kitchen, Trey let out a loud yawn before opening up the fridge looking for something.

He sighed, "Jill! Did you drink that last of my orange soda again!"

"Why the hell would I?!" Jill shouted back, "You probably drank it and forgot!"

"Ha ha, very funny!" Trey groaned slamming the fridge. He pulled out his wallet, opening it up to find a five dollar bill alongside three dollars in change and a folded up scrap of photo paper. "Hmm?" He raised a brow, fishing out the photo paper.

He unfolded it, gasping ever so slightly as he now saw the photo in his hand. Pictured was Jill, only two months ago, sitting at a table and surrounded by balloons with a happy grin on her face while throwing her arms in the air. In front of her on the table was a torn up pile of wrapping paper and in her hands, tightly gripped, was a video game marked "Saber's Quest" with a red haired warrior in black armor swinging a sword pictured on the cover.

Trey's heart swelled at the sight of this image, sniffling ever so slightly as a tear rolled out from his eye and down his cheek. He wiped his eye, sniffling some more as he did so.

"Trey?" Jill called out from the other room, "Are you okay?"

Trey clenched the photo. Then, after turning on his heel, he dragged his feet as he made his way back into the living room and walked up to Jill on the couch.

"Do you.. remember when this was taken?" Trey asked Jill, holding the photo up to her.

Jill looked to the photo, raising a brow, "My birthday last year…when you got me Saber's Quest," she looked to her brother, "why?"

"Do you… like it?" Trey asked, starting to blush as he dodged Jill's gaze. "The game I mean."

Jill blinked, "Um… duh?" Jill said, pausing her game as she sat herself up and just stared at him. "Its my favorite game of all time ya dolt."

Suddenly, Trey threw his arms around Jill and pulled her close into a tight and warm hug. "I'm sorry…" he muttered, patting her on the head as he sniffled a bit, "I've been an awful big brother to you, and you didn't deserve any of it. Do you hear me?"

"O-oh…" Jill stuttered, blushing herself as she hugged her brother. "Well, to be fair.. I sorta deserved it for picking on ya."

It was then that the front door opened and Owen walked in. "Oh my," he grinned as he eyed his two kids, "isn't this a sight."

"DADDY!" Jill cheered, grinning ear to ear as she rushed over to Owen and clung to his leg.

"They just announced a new game based on Saber's Quest! Can I get it! Please! Please!"

Owen raised a brow, then grinned himself, "Maybe…" he said, patting Jill on the head, "If Lady Saber remembers her bed time."

Jill stood there for a moment in silence, then gasped. "I was helping Trey with something!" She yelled as she bolted up the stairs to the second floor of the house, "Just so you know!"

Trey simply laughed quietly as Owen let out a yawn. "So, mind telling me how you managed that one?" Owen asked as he removed his coat and hung it on a hook on the wall.

Trey held up the photo from his wallet, "We just had a talk."

"I see," Owen raised a brow at his son, "and how did the game shop go?" He nudged him a bit, "By how I didn't see you come home last night, I'm guessing…"

"He ditched me," Trey let out a heavy sigh, his head hanging to the floor. "Told me he didn't want me coming around anymore."

"Oh Trey…" Owen gulped, reaching out to his son and hugging him tight, "I'm sorry."

"It's alright," Trey managed a grin as he hugged his father back, "I was out of his league anyway."

"That's the spirit.. I think," Owen patted Trey on his back then pulled away from him and looked him in the eye. "But then, what did keep you out all night?"

"Oh..uh…" Trey dodged his father's gaze and gulped, "you're gonna think its crazy."

Owen smirked, crossing his arms, "We won't know that until you say it."

"Okay then… Dad?" Trey looked his father in the eye, "Do you think… that… heroes and demons are real?"

Owen starred his son, his eyes zeroing in on the necklace Trey wore around his neck before sighing once again.

"I had a feeling this day would come," Owen said, fishing out his wallet and handing his credit card from it to Trey. "Go to the Halsey's down the road, tell her you want the good stuff okay?" He told his son before giving him a firm pat on the shoulder, "We'll talk when you get back, okay?"

Trey gasped, then stood there puzzled, "You aren't just gonna tell me right now?"

"No way," he shook his head, "cause I still need to figure out just how to put this.." he said, looking up the stairs, "and, this isn't a conversation I want to risk your sister over hearing."

"Oh…" Trey muttered under his breath.

Owen smirked, patting the boy on the shoulder, "Now get going, alright?"

Trey smirked, then nodded, "Right."

Within the network of cables, Selias hung from her ring staring at a brightly burning flame that hung above the pit of the damned. The jester stood at the maw of the pit, a black flame in her hand as she stared at the same flame.

"Any minute now," Selias muttered, crossing her arms, "we'll have our result.

Within the flame was the image of Trey, hours later and walking down the dimly lit night streets. With two large and very full fabric bags in hand, the boy had finished his shopping trip and was already heading home. On his journey, Trey found himself at the entrance to a park which he crossed without hesitation.

The moment he stepped through the gate however, the air changed as a red skull shaped moon appeared overhead. The moment this happened, Trey stopped dead in his tracks.

"So.. you really were following me after all," Trey spoke, shooting a glare over his shoulder to the beast that now stood behind him. "Gate Keeper."

"Hello again, boy" Grak'nar snarled as he stared down at Trey. "You gonna to tell me how you knew I was here?"

"Rather simple really," Trey tapped his nose, backing away ever so slightly. "You stink of rotting flesh. It wouldn't kill you to bathe more often you know."

Grak'nar let out a roar, then darted at Trey. The beast swung its claws at Trey, the young man being just fast enough to evade each swing of the windego's claws even with the bags he carried.

Trey kept this up until he was backed into a tree, staring Grak'nar in the eye as the beast thrusted his claw at him in a stabbing motion. Trey, at the last second, ducked down just as Grak'nar's claw plunged itself into the wood of the tree in place of Trey's gut. Trey panted like mad, staring up at the beast above him as Grak'nar glared down at him.

"Do you know what I am Fledgling?" Grak'nar asked him.

Trey nodded, "And I know why I'm the only one who can see you."

Grak'nar laughed, licking his lips as he ripped his claw from the tree, "Then you should know full well how dead you will be!" Grak'nar roared, bringing his claw down upon Trey only for the gate keeper to feel a sharp pain erupt from the center of his chest.

Grak'nar's forward momentum was halted, the beast staring down to see Jayd standing beneath his claw in a violet coat with a dagger in one hand holding up his claw and another dagger in her other hand which was driven into his chest.

"My my, you sure are a loud one Fledgling Trey," Eli sighed as Jayd ripped her dagger from Grak'nar's chest and shoved him back.

"You talking about me or the Gate Keeper?" Trey asked as he picked himself up off the ground.

Eli didn't answer, with Jayd looking over her shoulder to Trey. "You knew we were following you?"

Trey grinned and shrugged, "Lucky guess."

Jayd smirked under her mask, spinning her daggers in her hands as she looked back to Grak'nar, "Looks like your luck has finally paid off young man."

"Syd," Eli called to his contractor from his gem, "his skin is far too thick for our daggers to cut. I recommend a class change."

"Already on it," Jayd told him, pulling out a green die as she popped the violet one from her buckle.

"RE:ROLL!" her buckle shouted as Jayd slammed the green die into it and spun the dia, her coat changing from deep violet to green and two swords formed on her back, "STRIKER! Piercing Sabers! Carve the Path!"

"Grak'nar the Hungerer!" Jayd and Eli called out in unison, "The crimes you have committed cannot be forgiven, your soul is forfeit and thus we have come claim it!" She pulled both her swords off her back and aimed one at the beast, "Now… repent foul beast!"

Before Jayd could so much as blink, Grak'nar thrashed his claws down upon the network rider and threw her away from Trey.

"SYD!" Trey gasped, reaching his arm out only for that same arm to be violently grabbed by the beast that now loomed above him.

"Repent?!" Grak'nar laughed, as Jayd regained her footing, "You must be joking!" He grabbed Trey by his arm and swung him over his back, "I'm dead either way if I don't bring back this worthless fledgling!"

The beast clawed at the air creating a tear in reality, opening a rift to the network of cables.

"He's opening up a rift to the network!" Eli called out.

"I know that!" Jayd barked back, gritting her teeth.

Grak'nar wrapped his claws around Trey's neck, "Make one move and I will end him, are we clear?" Syd lowered her sword slightly and gritted her teeth tighter together, "Catch you later failure rider," Grak'nar said with a wave as he stepped through the rift and closed it behind him.

Jayd pulled one of the vials off her belt and threw it into the rift, preventing it from closing completely, "Eli!"

"On it!" Eli called out as Syd held her arm out in front of her. On Eli's command, a bright green ethereal griffon materialized in front of her. Jayd then hopped onto the griffon, looking it in the eye, "You solid there?"

"Enough as I need to be," the griffon spoke in Eli's voice, "though it's been awhile since I've last manifested myself."

"Then let's hurry," Jayd said back.

Eli took off, charging forward into the rift and entering the tunnel made up of blood red wires and cables.

Grak'nar crawled along the roof of the tunnel, still keeping a tight grasp on Trey. His ear twitched as the sound of Eli's wings flapping began to echo through the cables of his network. The beast snarled as Trey looked up, a grin of relief coming to his face.

"That girl just doesn't know when to quit does she?" Trey muttered to himself

"KEEP IT DOWN BACK THERE!" Grak'nar roared at his captive, continuing to dart down the tunnel that seemingly had no end to it, "OR I WILL END YOU HERE AND NOW!"

"We're losing them," Eli called out as he continued to soar through the tunnel, "and it's becoming hard to breath faster than I expected."

"Then its only a matter of time before Trey suffocates in here," Jayd returned as she ejected her Striker die from her belt replacing it with her Hunter die, "We'll need a little more fire power," she said while giving her belt a good spin.

"REROLL!" Jayd's belt shouted as her coat changed from green to orange and her swords were switched for a crossbow, a quiver forming on her back in the place of her sheaths, "HUNTER! Burning Arrow! Fly Free!"

Jayd held her crossbow up in front of her and fired off blind into the darkness of the tunnel. Grak'nar was shook when a few came close to hitting him.

"So that's how she wants to play is it?" Grak'nar growled before jumping down to the ground and slamming Trey to the ground.

Jayd road on Eli's back up to Grak'nar and brought the griffin to a halt. "Still alive kid?" She asked as she dismounted, Eli's griffon form dematerializing and returning to the gem on Jayd's gauntlet.

Trey winced, then managed a laugh, "I've had worse."

"If its a fight you crave Network Rider, it's a fight you'll get!" Grak'nar snarled as he released Trey from his grasp. "But I should warn you, it won't be-" Jayd aimed her bow at the beast then fired off a single shot, striking Grak'nar deep in his shoulder, "-GAH!" the beast roar grabbing onto his shoulder as the arrow burned into his flesh, "YOU BITCH!"

"You talk too much," Jayd said bluntly, resting her crossbow on her shoulder, "Honestly, why must you monsters also try and go out on some grand speech? It's just pointless padding."

"So you like to cut to the chase I see," Grak'nar sneered barring his claws at the warrior in front of him, "Fine by me. Though you aren't going to do much with such a tedious weapon."

Jayd smirked under her masked and pulled out a pale blue six sided die, "Good thing I've been wanting to give this a field test."

Jayd ejected her hunter die from her belt and replaced it with the pale blue one, giving her belt a spin as she cast aside her crossbow.

"REROLL!" Her belt shouted as her coat changed from burning orange to a dazzling cyan, her quiver fading into the either as a tall mage staff with a crescent moon shaped blade at the end of it adorned by a large blue crystal formed in her hand, "CASTER! Take the staff! Fight with magic!"

Trey's eyes widened in awe, "... whoa."

Jayd spun the crystal at the top of her staff as sparks began to erupt from it quicking igniting in a roaring fire of arcane magic. She swung her staff at Grak'nar firing off several balls of sparking mana at the beast, each one hitting their mark.

Grak'nar fell to the ground.

Trey climbed to his feet, "Nice shot!" He managed to comment before coughing a bit from the air in the tunnel

"Not really shocking, is it?" Jayd joked, despite gritting her teeth at Trey's current state.

"You dare mock me?!" Grak'nar growled, panting as he clawed at the walls of the cave as he attempted to recover from the hit.

Jayd nodded, "Yeah, I'd say that sounds about right," she ejected the blue die from her belt and replaced it with her blood red finisher die, "however now, I'm finishing this."

"FINAL ROLL!" her belt shouted as a charge up noise erupted from her staff. She spun the dial on her belt spinning the die before it came to a halt as a white four appeared on it, "FOUR! FULL STRIKE!"

She swung her staff at Grak'nar as four massive sparking mana balls hurled towards him. In a last ditch effort, Grak'nar grabbed Trey and used him as a human shield against the blaze, Trey braced for the impact as the flames made contact with him.

"Hey dad… my life sucked," Trey thought to himself as he was engulfed by the attack, feeling time slow around him. "I know you yelled at me a lot, for fighting with Jill and all that…" he felt himself grow lighter, a tear coming to his eye as everything around him turned into a white void. "But in the end, I'm glad I was able to help Syd in all this… truly, I am." He closed his eyes, and felt himself slip away.

"Trey? Trey!" A voice called out to him, bringing the boy back to reality.

His eyes slowly opened as he was welcomed back to life with the sight of Syd, who had reverted back to her civilian form, hovering over him desperately shaking him by his shoulders.

"Oh…" Trey laughed a bit, wincing a second later, "hey Syd."

Syd frowned, "What kind of response is that?" she punched him in the arm, "Idiot, I thought you were dead."

"Uh… sorry?" Trey returned rubbing his arm.

Syd smiled back at him, "Well anyways I'm glad you're alright."

"The boy should count himself lucky that the magic used by network rider is only effective against Gate Keepers and not humans," Eli called out from the gem on Syd's gauntlet.

"You might want to inform me of the details on stuff like that in advance next time," Syd chuckled, "next time we might not be so lucky."

"So… what now?" Trey asked.

Syd turned to Trey and raised an eyebrow, "What do you mean?"

"Well, you destroyed the Gate Keeper right? So… what do you do now?"

"There are more Gate Keepers in other parts of the world," Syd explained, dusting herself off as she stood herself up. "Now that our business here is done, we'll be heading out as soon as we can to other parts of the world."

"Oh… I see," Trey said with sorrow in his voice, "Then you're leaving?"

"Yup," Syd said giving Trey her hand, "come on Trey, let's get you home."

Trey took her hand, pulling himself up by her grasp as the pale hand of Grak'nar fell off from his belt. "UGH!" Trey jumped at the sight of it.

"Mommy…." The hand whimpered in a softer child-like voice as it grasped the air around it, "hungry… please… feed me…"

Trey felt his heart sink as he watched this. The young man then eyed the bags by his side and reached into one of them before pulling out a small fruit cup.

"Here…" Trey muttered, placing the cup in Grak'nar's hand, "it isn't much, but its what I can spare."

The hand stopped moving for a moment, then slowly closed around the fruit cup. "Thank you…" Grak'nar whimpered, the hand that remained of him dissolving to ash in the wind along with the fruit cup.

"He was just a child…" Trey muttered, looking over his shoulder to Syd, "wasn't he?"

"Whatever he was, there was nothing we could do," Eli informed him, Syd gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "Once a fledgling becomes a Gate Keeper, there is no going back."

Within the network, the Jester hovered above a stage with a pair of wooden crosses in her hands that connected to the stage below her by strings.

"Once there was a poor child locked in a cage," Maestro's voice echoed through the network as Jester moved the crosses, a cage raising up with a puppet of a small boy in rags housed within it. "His parents well fed-" a table raised up on the stage, a pair of puppets that resembled a posh man and woman feasting at it "-and his eyes filled with rage." The child puppet glared at them, his eyes turning red.

"Mommy! Feed me! He grobbled and pleaded," Maestro's voice continued, Jester making the boy puppet reach out to the man and woman puppet. The man and woman puppet turned to the boy puppet and moved as if they were laughing. "Be fortunate we give you anything! she laughed as they feasted. It's more than you deserve."

At the back of the stage, a pair of dark blue disembodied eyes that matched those of Selias appeared. "Little did they know," Maestro continued, "in their cruel filled joy, that another set of eyes fell upon the boy."

Selias' eyes turned to the boy, growing smaller until they were just over his shoulder. "Kill them, muttered a voice in his head. Eat them! She wanted them dead."

The eyes faded from the stage, the table falling from view as the parent puppets got up and exited stage right. "And so, once the couple was all fed and in bed," the boy puppet grew pale, it's head falling back to allow a puppet of Grak'nar the Hunderer to erupt from his mouth and rip through the cage "the boy was freed from his cage and sought to answer his belly's rage."

"The boy now a beast," the Grak'nar puppet marched off the stage in the same direction as the parent puppets, an overly cartoonish but still very real pair of screams echoed from behind the curtain, "tied them both up and cut them to bits. All while enjoying their screams and their fits, making them his first feast."

The Jester bowed, the stage bursting into flames before scattering into a flock of spectral bats as a tall pale man closed a book from where he watched the performance atop Selias' skeletal ring. He had long flowing black hair and was dressed in a regal suit with a long dark collared cloak lightly draped over top it. The book he held read simply "Tome of the Gate Keepers."

"Be at peace Grak'nar," he said with a heavy sigh, "may you hunger no more."

"Mark my words Maestro," Selias muttered from beside the pale muttered, now sitting upright and tightly gripping the skull of her skeletal ring, "Grak'nar shall be avenged."

Back in the human realm, Syd and Trey had made it back to the boy's home. Trey took in a nervous gulp while Syd looked up to the house with a grin on her face.

"Well, we got you back home." Syd said, patting Trey on the back. "Once you head inside we'll split okay?"

"Okay… but," Trey looked to Syd, "you're sure that no more Gate Keepers are going to come after me, right?"

"Unlikely," Eli told him, "but should one get on your tail, another Network Rider is sure to answer the call."

"You're sure about that?" Trey asked.

"It's what we do Trey," Syd boasted with a smirk, placing her closed fists on her hips in a confident stance, "we extended a helping hand to Fledglings everywhere."

"I see…" Trey thought for a moment, then got a grin of his own on his face. "Then, how about I extend one to you?"

Syd blinked, raising a brow, "How do you mean?"

"Well… I was thinking that maybe-" before Trey could finish his sentence, the front door to the house swung open and Owen came out.

"Trey!" He pulled him into a hug, "About time you got back-" He paused, taking a step back as he noticed Syd. "Are... what I think you are?"

"Dad," Trey motioned to the red haired girl, "this is Syd… She's a-"

"A Network Rider," Owen cut him off again, a serious tone coming to his voice as he glared at Syd. "I already know." He crossed his arms, his gaze sharpening upon Syd, "You didn't let him get dinged up too much I hope?

Syd shook her head, then raised her arm to present the bracelet that held Eli's gem.

"Do heed my word sir," Eli said, "my contractor and I ensured no harm came to your son."

"Alright, then let me ask you one more question," Owen's tone softened as did his gaze and stance. "Jewel Hart… Does that name ring a bell?

"Sorry sir," Syd closed her eyes then raised her free hand to Owen. "Yes, that name is familiar to me… but I am unable to disclose any information concerning my associates."

"I figured as much…" Owen let out a heavy sigh before hanging his head, "still, I had to ask."

Silence filled the air for a moment, only for Eli to break it moments later by speaking up.

"Sir," the navigator said, "Owen, that is your name correct?" Owen simply nodded, Eli continuing to speak. "Would you be offended if I asked you a question now?

Own nodded again, "Shoot."

"It is clear this Jewel you speak of means a lot to you, and I wish there was more we could tell you," Eli informed him. "It is simply because you are not in a position to be given such information... your son, Trey however, might be."

Owen and Trey both gave Eli a look.

Eli.." Syd raised a brow, "you aren't asking what I think you are, are you?"

"I am," Eli told her, "we attempted to sever his ties to the gate keeper realm but a fledgling he remains. He might have a role yet to play among the Network Riders."

"Oh, I get it now," Syd smirked, looking over to the boy that stood next to her, "So then Trey, how about it? Wanna come with us?"

Trey's eyes widened, a small gasp escaping his lips, "I... I don't know…" he muttered. He eyed Owen, "Dad-"

"You are your mother's son Trey, I knew that the day you were born," Owen grinned, placing his hand firmly on Trey's head. "As much as I can try and stop you, at the end of the day it's your choice to make."

"You heard him, the choice is yours," Syd said, nudging him in the arm with her elbow. "So, what's it gonna be?"

A grin came to Trey's face, turning to both Syd and Eli, "I'm in."

**To be continued**

{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}


	3. 3rd Revolution: Of Many Faces Part 1

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Please forgive the delay between these two chapters coming out, as all of you know, a lot has happened in the past few months. I know it's cliche at this point to say this, but in these certain times we need to work together to ensure a brighter future. Never forget, no matter how dark the world may appear, so long as there is light there is hope. With that being said, please enjoy these new chapters of Jayd Re:Rolled. Stay safe, stay creative.

**3rd Revolution: Departure! The World's Greatest Fighter?**

The next morning, Trey stood outside facing his house with a bag on his back and two suitcases at both his sides. Owen faced him with a grin on his face and Jill clinging to his leg with her eyes to the ground. Just a few feet down the street stood Syd and Eli, glancing every so often to the family only half a block away from them.

"You be careful out there, okay?" Owen said as he patted his son firmly on the shoulders, "and be sure to call often."

"I would but.." Trey blushed, scratching the back of his head, "I kinda broke my when I tossed it at the wall."

"I know, Syd told me," Owen laughed, handing the boy a new phone, "that's why I went out and got you this."

Trey's eyes widened, smiling as he took the phone. "Thanks dad," he said as he shoved the phone in the pocket of his backpack.

Owen and Trey then both looked to Jill. "Well?..." Owen nudged his daughter with his hand, "Anything you want to say to your brother before he leaves?"

Jill gulped, taking a step forward before throwing her arms around her brothers legs and holding him tight.

"If you get hurt out there…" Jill whimpered, "I'll kick your whole butt."

"I know you will," Trey smiled, hugging his sister back. "You keep slaying monsters while I'm gone, okay?"

"Saber doesn't slay monsters," Jill sniffled, "she fights magical beasts."

"Well, the next one you do fight," Trey said, leaning down to give his sister a small kiss on the top of her forehead, "give 'em an extra jab for your big brother. Kay?"

Jill looked up to him, wiping her eyes before nodding to Trey. "Kay," she said, donning a grin of her own.

With a wave of his hand, Trey picked up his bags and headed down the road to meet up with Syd and Eli. Jill stood there alongside her father, clutching his hand as she watched her brother disappear over the horizon.

"You're gonna miss him," Owen smiled at her, "aren't you?"

Jill blushed hard, shaking her head as she avoided looking her father in the eye. "I am not…" she fibbed, "I just.. why can't Saber go on an adventure like that?"

"I'm sure you will some day," Owen told her, a black dog with a red bandana catching Jill's eye for a moment as it stood staring at her from across the street, "just you wait Ms Saber."

Moments later, Trey was walking close behind Syd as she and Eli drew close to an alleyway marked with a green x.

"You get everything in order?" she asked curiously.

Trey nodded, "I told my folks I was going on a camping trip with a friend of mine."

"Good, then I'd say it's about high time we got moving," she turned around and pulled up the garage door, she bowed to him, "ladies first."

Trey ignored the remark and stepped inside the pitch black garage, "I'm guessing you still have a bit of packing to do?"

"Not exactly," she pulled on a lever as a million bright lights switched on revealing a chrome interior that gave the impression of a dome, a control panel sat in the center of the room.

The interior was sleek yet gave the impression that it was fairly worn out, with several exposed wires jutting out from busted wall panels that made up the room. The twin swords, crossbow, daggers and staff that Jayd had used in battle hung in glass cases along the wall on one side.

Syd stood next to him and placed her hands on her hips, "Welcome to the Annex Trey."

"The Annex…" Trey stood in awe of his new surroundings, "so… this is where you guys live?"

"For the most part," Eli called out from the gem on Syd's gauntlet, "The Annex acts as our base of operations and safe heaven. It's reinforced so that no Gate Keeper can enter no matter how strong they are."

"It's our mobile fortress," Jayd said as a small chirping sound erupted from a pile of broken panels as a mechanical owl-like creature flew up from the clutter and dashed over to Syd. Syd laughed a little, "Hi there Torchwick, you miss us?"

The owl made small clicking noises and nodded, "Yes! Yes!"

Syd smiled, "We missed you too."

Trey jumped back, "GAH! The heck is that?!"

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot," she held the robotic owl up to Trey, "This is Torchwick, he acts as the anchor and operator for the Annex."

"I see…" Trey looked around for a moment then turned back to Syd, "So… how exactly does this thing move?"

Suddenly, Eli's gem began blinking. "Syd, we have another mission," he told her.

Syd smirked, looking to Trey, "Perfect, then we'll be able to show this curious cat how this puppy rolls."

"Wait," Trey blinked, eyeing the floor, "this thing rolls?"

Syd shook her head then snapped her fingers and pointed to the terminal in the center of the room, "Right over there," she said hopping over to the control board grabbing a large lever. She looked back to Trey, "You might want to hold onto something."

Trey raised an eyebrow, "Wait, why?"

Eli spoke out, "Turbulence."

Syd shrugged then smirked, "Don't say I didn't warn you."

She flipped the lever down resulting in the entire room shaking knocking Trey off his feet and onto the floor. The primary lights of the Annex shut off as dull neon green ones took their place as a drowning electronic whine filled the room.

"Oh, almost forgot," Syd spoke up pulling the lever back up bringing the Annex to a halt, the lighting remaining the same, "there's something I want to show you." she said, jumping over to a small hatch on the wall.

Trey picked himself up off the ground and made his way over to the hatch. Without saying a word Syd opened the hatch revealing a glass window that looked out to a neon green void filled with what looked like cables made of neon light of various colors.

Trey's jaw dropped, "What is this?"

"This is the network, my world," Syd smiled, "network riders such as myself use this subspace to travel all across the world to get to where they need to be. Oh, there goes one now!" she called out pointing to an orb of light traveling down a violet colored path at a speed that was almost impossible to see.

"Whoa!" Trey jumped back, "You can get halfway across the world in a matter of seconds from here?"

"Yup," Syd returned leaning against a wall, "Beautiful isn't it? Such a shame that you can only see it for an instant… though most good things in this world rarely last forever."

Trey looked at her, "Syd… who exactly are you?"

She looked back at him and smiled, "I'm just a wandering network rider," she said poking him on the nose, "that's all you need to know."

{Insert Opening Theme - "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

Deep within the Gate Keeper's domain, Selias stared down to a pit where several beast gate keepers brawled. The monsters, too many to count, clawed at one another and ripped each other to pieces until only two remained. The first, a large minotaur with a broken horn and scarred eye and the second a humanoid chimera with the head and body of a lion, the wings of a bat and the cloven hooves of a goat. Its tail was a snake, which hissed at the minotaur as the lion head atop the neck of the main body stared down the same foe as did a goat's head atop the chimera's left shoulder.

Selias, watching this from above, leaned in closely with her arms crossed and eyes narrowed upon the two remaining gate keepers.

"Worry not Grak'nar…" she muttered, "the victor shall be my champion."

The beasts snarled, the minotaur charging towards the chimera with a powerful roar before grabbing the other beast with its powerful claws and pinning it to the wall of the pit. The chimera wailed for a moment, only for the minotaur to plunge its horns into the other beast's gut seconds later.

The minotaur panted heavily, its grasp on its foe loosening slightly as it looked up above to Selias with a smirk on its face. The smirk the minotaur wore was not one to laugh however, as it was wiped from its face the second it locked eyes with the stone cold glare of it's lord.

"What's the face for?!" the minotaur barked, "LORD SELIAS I WON!"

"Hardly…" Selias muttered under her breath.

This single word went unheard by the minotaur, as by the time it reached the beast's ears the claws of the chimera dug themselves into the minotaur's head. Gripping the head of it's foe tightly, the chimera decapitated the opposing beast with a single twist of its talons.

With a steady breath and firm stance, the chimera looked up to Selias as the headless body of the minotaur fell lifelessly into the pile of other mangled bodies.

"One hundred strong gate keepers entered this pit, and now only you remain," Selias said in a commanding tone. "State your name."

"We are Ashura," the beast spoke with the echo of three voices, placing its hand over its chest, "of Many Faces."

Back in the human world, the sun was setting over a middle school in London England. In the football field outside, a dark skinned boy stood with his hands on his knees and breathing heavily as he stared at the round black and white ball that lay on the grass in front of him. He wore a simple white t-shirt and pale blue shorts along with knee high socks and size seven cleats.

"COME ON WILL!" Cheered a light skinned girl about his age with blond hair done up in pigtails, "YOU CAN DO IT!" She stood off to the side, in white button up shirt and green dress pants with black shoes.

"Liz, don't encourage him," chuckled a boy much larger than Will with buzzed brown hair in a red t-shirt and black shorts with the same style of socks and shoes as Will, "no way your boyfriend is making a single goal, let alone try outs." The boy crossed his arms while standing in front of a large net.

"Oh bite me Ronnie!" Liz rolled her eyes at him before grinning at Will and giving him a double thumbs up before blowing a kiss to him.

Will smirked, blowing a kiss back to Liz before narrowing his gaze upon Ronnie. Will then took in a deep breath, then exhaled.

"Just one goal…" he muttered to himself before kicking the ball forward, running towards the goal shortly after while continuing to kick the ball.

As Will drew closer, Ronnie widened his stance and raised his open hands up in front of him. The two boys locked eyes with one another, Will's gaze darting to the right corner of the net before kicking the ball into that same corner. Ronnie caught on instantly however, the goalie simply stepping to the side and smacking the ball back at Will before it even touched the steel frame of the net.

"Ehnt!" Ronnie shook his head, mimicking the cry of a buzzer.

This didn't dissuade Will one bit however, going for the ball again and traveling with it back up to the crease of the net. His breath getting ever so heavier, he kicked the ball again this time it going to the top of the net.

Ronnie watched the path of the ball, letting out a tiny sigh as he jumped up before head butting the ball back at Will before buzzing once again, "Ehnt!"

Will caught the ball with a bump of his chest, his breathing even heavier than before as the ball landed at his feet. "Next shot… next shot.." he muttered to himself.

"One last shot Will," Ronnie let out a yawn of boredom, looking at will with the same cocky grin he had from the start, "then that's all the time I've got to entertain your delusions."

"Ronnie stop it!" Liz barked at him, giving the goalie a grin, "why do you have to be like this?"

"I'm captain of the team aren't I?" Ronnie shrugged, keeping his eyes on Will, "I can't let just anyone make it to try outs."

Liz huffed, crossing her arms as she maintained her glare on Ronnie, "Just give Will a fare shot, okay?"

Ronnie laughed, punching the palm of his open hand with his fist as his smirk widened upon Will, "What do you think I've been doing?"

Will's gaze remained fixed upon Ronnie, kicking the ball around with his foot before darting forward towards the goal once again. Seeing Will fall back to the same tactics, Ronnie shook his head.

"He never learns does he?" He asked himself, raising both his hands to catch the ball.

He was fully relaxed, until Will came to a sudden stop and wound his foot back before rocketing it forward into a powerful kick which shot the ball directly at Ronnie's face. The surprising force of the ball wiped the smug grin off Ronnie's face, forcing his hands up to catch the ball. The strength of the kick alone was enough to force Ronnie back two steps.

Will smirked, a sense of accomplishment filling his heart at the sight of getting Ronnie to move back. Ronnie on the other hand gritted his teeth, let out a snarl before whipping the ball back at Will while aiming at the same spot he had just defended on his own person.

Will and Liz both gasped, Will blocking the ball by catching it with his hands before allowing it to fall back to the ground. He placed his foot on top of the ball, "One more!" He thought to himself.

"EHNT!" Ronnie buzzed, shooting a glare at Will before pointing at him, "hand ball."

Liz and Will both blinked in both shock and confusion. "You threw it at my face!" Will barked back at Ronnie.

"Then you should've blocked it with your bloody forearms, that thick head of yours or dodge it," Ronnie told him, getting out from the net as he picked up his bag. "Getting hit like that is just part of the game."

Will, gritting his teeth, picked up the ball and chucked it at Ronnie. Ronnie glare at Will, simply back handing the ball into the net before letting a tired huff.

"Do the team favor Will," Ronnie said, slinging his bag over his shoulder, "don't bother showing up for tryouts."

With that, Ronnie made his way out of the football field and left the school grounds out of a gate on the far end of the courtyard. Quietly, and with his head hung low, Will went to the net and picked up the ball before going back to the edge of the crease.

Liz let out a small sigh, managing a sigh as she walked up to Will as he dropped the ball back onto the ground.

"Sweety?" She called out to Will, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Let's get out of here. I'll buy you supper from that nice caff down the way."

"Liz…" Will looked at her with tired empty eyes, "Could I maybe meet up with you later?"

Liz's grin faded for a moment as she felt her heart sink, but she quickly regained it after a hard gulp.

"Okay.." she muttered, kissing him on the cheek, "don't stay out too late, kay love?"

Will gave her a kiss back, on the lips this time as he manages to regain his smile ever so slightly, "I won't, don't worry."

High atop the London Eye on the other side of the city, Trey stood at the edge of the gondola with his hands on the glass. The boy's eyes were open wide in both awe and excitement as he stared down at the bustling lake side city around him.

"I can't believe I'm actually here right now…" he muttered, grinning ear to ear as he looked over to Syd who sat over his shoulder munching down on a grape flavor ice pop, "Syd! Are you seeing this?!"

Syd glanced towards him and shrugged, "I've seen it all before.." she told him, looking towards the gem on her bracelet, "how many times have we landed here again Eli?"

"This would make our fourth time in London England," Eli spoke. "I must say Trey, your ability to keep pace with the time change is impressive."

Trey blushed, his head sinking into his hoodie a bit as his eyes fell off Syd and Eli. "I just… I've never been outside my home town before," he laughed nervously. He then scratched the back of his head, "It's exciting.. but also a bit scary to be honest."

"And you should not feel ashamed to admit that, Fledgling Trey," Eli told him in a comforting tone of voice. "Syd and I are here on a mission, but you can talk to us about anything that crosses your mind. You are aware of that, correct?"

"Thanks Eli, I'll keep that in mind," Trey managed a grin, taking a seat across from Syd as he looked at the duo in front of him, "speaking of.. there's something I have been meaning to ask."

"Well then Fledgling Trey," Eli said, "shoot."

As Eli spoke, Syd pulled a silver vial off her belt and cracked it open, pouring a drop of the green fluid held within onto her ice pop before continuing to eat it. Trey took note of this then looked back to Eli's gem on Syd's wrist.

"Well, just what am I going to do while I'm traveling with you two?" Trey asked. "Sure, I'm looking to find out more about my mother but… how exactly do I go about that?"

"The information you seek is something only a Network Rider is able to get," Eli told him, "and you are a fledgling, one with great potential at that. The means of becoming a Network Rider for you at this point is simply gaining the approval of our commander."

"Well yeah, that I know…" Trey's grin faded as he let out a small sigh, "I'm still not sure if that's something I want."

These words made Syd turn her attention from her frozen treat to the boy in front of her.

"Then you should consider yourself lucky that you are being given a choice at all," Syd told him. "Not many recruits are granted such a luxury."

Trey stared at Syd for a moment in silence, then after a second or two, "H-How did you become one?" he muttered, "If you don't mind me asking."

Syd's eyes widened ever so slightly at the question. "I…" she lowered her ice pop, looking down at the floor as she pondered on how to respond, "I don't know…"

Trey blinked, "You don't remember?"

Syd shook her head. "The earliest thing I know is that one day I just woke up like this…" she said before closing her eyes. "Eli was there on my wrist, and the commander was at my bedside informing me of what was to come."

"That's all you know?" Trey asked, his heart sinking into the bottom of his stomach, "nothing else?"

"Well… not entirely," a smile came to Syd's face, "I remember the image of an old man with my hair color.. and a girl with dark skin and curly hair, its color was like the feathers of a raven."

"Your family?" Trey questioned.

"Something like that…" Syd told him, opening her eyes back up as she looked back to Trey, "all I know is they aren't around anymore, but they were most likely very important to who I was."

"I.. I'm sorry to hear that…" Trey muttered, hanging his heart and allowing his gaze to hit the floor.

Staring at Trey, Syd raised a brow at him. "Hey now, it's okay," she reached out her free hand and pinched his cheek. "I don't even know their names, and sure it stings a bit when I think about it… but if anything, that sense of loss is my reason to do what I do."

Trey looked at her, "How so?"

"Like, feeling that I've lost someone, makes me want to protect people that much more." Syd smirked at him, pulling on his cheek before releasing it, "Like you my young intern!"

"OW!" Trey yelled, holding his cheek where Syd had pinched him before glaring at her. "Your hands are very cold, you know that?"

Syd shrugged, holding up her ice pop as she maintained her smirk, "Oh gosh, I wonder why."

"Fair," Trey smirked, managing a laugh. He eyed the ice pop in Syd's hand, taking note of the green speckles that were sewn throughout it. "Say… that stuff you put on that.. is that-"

"Gate Keeper blood?" Syd finished his question, raising a brow at him. Trey nodded, causing Syd's grin to widden, "Eyup, but we call it Jaydite." She took another bit of her ice pop, swallowing hard as she let out a gasp of delight before falling back into her seat. "Has a bit a kick to it, but it's perfect for recharging my batteries."

"Huh…" Trey blinked, "what does it taste like?"

Syd smirked, flipping her ice pop over to the side she hadn't eaten before holding it out to him, "Why don't you sample and find out?"

Trey leaned forward and bit into the ice pop, munching into it. "Huh," he continued to chew, "kinda bitter…"

Syd laughed, "why do you think I mix it with ice cream?"

Trey raised a brow and thought about it, then nodded his head in agreement. As the ice in his mouth began to melt, the jaydite was allowed to make unfiltered contact with his tongue. The moment this happened, his eyes shot open as the inside of his mouth suddenly felt like it was on fire.

"AHHH!" He yelped, Syd handing him a bottle of water which he quickly grabbed and downed in a single gulped. "HOLY HELL!" he breathed, falling back in his seat.

Syd let out a hearty chuckle, crossing her legs as she continued to eat her frozen treat, "I warned ya about the kick didn't I?"

"YA! But I was expecting a slight kick, not a kick to nads!" He barked at her, spitting violently onto the floor of the gondola before brushing off his tongue with his hands. "How do you even eat that stuff?!"

"There's a very simple explanation for that actually," Syd looked at him with a grin.

Suddenly, Eli's gem flashed bright red. "Syd!" Her navigator shouted, "A Gate Keeper has emerged!"

Back at the school yard, Will kicked the football into the net once again with the ball flying in with a clean swish of the netting.

Letting out a huff, Will slumped over to the net and scooped up the ball before heading back to the crease and dropping the ball back onto the grass between him and the net.

Winding his foot back, he delivered yet another powerful kick onto the ball sending it hurling through the air towards the net once again. As it soar, the orange evening sky suddenly shifted to a blood red hue. The claw of a lion reached out from the net, catching the ball as Ashura of Many Faces emerged with a snarl.

He glared at the boy, crushing the ball within his claw as all three of his heads fixed their gaze upon Will, "Fledgling…"

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Down town, Liz skipped out of a bakery with a white box in her hands and a blissful smile on her face. Turning on her heel to end down the street, she was stopped by the sudden call of a familiar voice over her shoulder.

"Something to help Will feel better when he flubs up tryouts tomorrow?" The voice asked.

Liz let out a frustrated huff, "Just drop it already Ronnie," she said as she shot a glare over her shoulder to the boy with a smug grin on his face. "Why must you live to make his life miserable in the first place?"

"Cause weak players have no place on my team," Ronnie said as he stepped forward and closed the gap between him and Liz. "And, to make sure he gets the message."

Suddenly, Ronnie raised his hand to the bottom of the box and flipped it out of Liz's hands. With a gasp, Liz jabbed Ronnie in the gut as she watched the box flip and turn in the air. "JERK!" she barked at the boy as he fell to his knees.

Ronnie breathed in, holding his gut as he caught his breath, "Sticks and stones mate."

Liz reached her arms out to catch the box, only to have it just barely slip out of her finger tips. She felt her heart plummet into her stomach, closing her eyes and clenching her empty hands tight as she anticipated the heartbreaking slap she knew was coming.

She stood there, frozen silent. She didn't hear a splat, instead hearing a rapid pitter patter of footsteps followed by a skid on the ground which was concluded by a loud clap and a sigh of relief.

Liz opened her eyes, seeing Trey picking himself off the ground with the box intact within his grasp.

"Phew," Trey breathed with a grin as he held it out to her, "close one, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, thanks" she managed a laugh and a grin of her own as she took the box from him. "Lucky for me someone like you was passing through, ya?"

Ronnie's smug grin quickly faded into a long scowl. The boy then quietly picked himself up off the ground and slumped away. It was then that Trey caught Syd in the air, leaping from rooftop to rooftop in the same direction he had been running.

Looking back at Liz, he patted the girl firmly on the shoulder and said, "Don't mention it, gotta run!" before hurrying after Syd.

"WAIT!" Liz called out to him, causing Trey to stop and look back to her over his shoulder. "You… kinda saved my arse back there," she told him, tightly gripping the box in her hands, "surely there's some way I can pay you back."

Trey grinned warmly at her, then shook his head. "Pay it forward kid," he said with a wave before turning his back to her and continuing on down the road.

Liz stood there with wide eyes. "Pay it forward…" she repeated to herself.

The longer Trey ran down the road, the heavier his breath became. "MAN!" he panted, looking up to Syd upon the rooftops, "How is she even able to run like that?!"

Trey blinked, finding Syd staring back at him upon reopening his eyes. "We'll work on that later!" She told him, scoping him up in her arms bridal style before leaping back up to the rooftops, "Right now we gotta hustle!"

In about three minutes of leaping from roof to roof, Syd took one final leap off the roof at the end of the current line of buildings and landed one a sidewalk. From there, she skipped over the road and arrived at her destination, the gate that led into the field of a middle school.

"Alright!" Trey shouted with anticipation, climbing out from Syd's arms and bolting to the gate, "Let's hurry with this!"

Just as Trey was about to place his hand on the handle of the gate, Syd suddenly grabbed him by the hood of his sweater and pulled him back before tossing him to the ground.

"Ow!" Trey exclaimed as he landed flat on his ass, looking up to Syd, "why'd you-"

"You would've lost that arm if I hadn't," Syd said coldly, picking up a small stone and coiling it up in her hand. "You may have entered the Gate Keeper's plain just fine before, but that's because you weren't aiming to… now that you are however," She chucked the stone at the gate, the small rock shattering to dust with a spark of red energy the moment it so much as touched the gate.

Trey sat there for a second, staring in shock at the bits of stone that now lay at his feet. "Well, thats just great isn't it?" He said, picking himself back up off the ground. Once he stood up, he looked over to Syd, "So how do we get in there?"

Syd smirked and pulled out her buckle, "That's where we come in."

"You may wish to stand back Fledgling Trey," Eli told him as Syd slapped her buckle onto her waist, a pair of belt straps shooting out from it and wrapping around her.

"GAME START!" Shouted the buckle as Trey took a few steps away from Syd while keeping his eyes on her. Syd pulled out her green Striker die then slapped it into her buckle.

Syd then pulled up her hood before giving the dial on her buckle a hard spin which caused the die to spin along with it. "STRIKER!" roared the buckle as Jayd's green striker mode formed around Syd and Eli in a whirlwind of green energy, "Piercing sabers! Carve the Path!"

Drawing their swords from their back, Jayd slashed at the gate causing a rip in reality to open. On the other side was the field just as they saw it, only with a blood red sky, dead grey grass and trees made of bones and withered skulls.

The moment the rip was open, Trey balled his hands into a pair of tight fists and darted through it.

"Well, he certainly has the right spirit doesn't he?" Eli's voice echoed from the gem on Jayd's gauntlet that was Syd's bracelet before transforming. "He'd make a fine network rider one day."

"If he's lucky enough to live that long," Jayd echoed back as she hurried through the rip after Trey.

Within the desolate field that lay under the blood red sky, Ashura clung to the trunk of the tallest tree made of bones with his left claw, his right flared out in a battle ready position as it lay at his side. The three headed beast snarled, sniffing the air as his lion head shifted from one side of the barren field to the other.

Will, who was coiled up in the snake that formed Ashura's tail, trembled and shook within the beast's grasp.

"W-What the hell is going on?!" Will screamed at the beast as he squirmed in his grasp, "What ARE you?!"

"Keep quiet boy!" Hissed the snake head in a tiny child-like voice from where it sat at the top of the beast's tail, tightening its constriction around Will as it narrowed its blood red eyes upon him, "or the next word you say will be the last."

"HAHAHA! Laughed the goat's head on the beast's left shoulder in the shrieking voice of an elderly woman, "Don't tease him like that son, or he'll believe he'll get out this painlessly."

"SILENCE! ALL OF YOU!" Roared the lion, tightening its hold on the tree as he raised his claw to the horizon where Jayd and Trey were steadily approaching, "Our prey has finally arrived."

Trey darted up to the base of the tree, stumbling to a halt before resting his hands on his knees in order to catch his breath. Jayd meanwhile stopped right in front of the tree and raised her swords to the beast while staring it down.

"Bad kitty!" Jayd barked at Ashura, "Put him down!"

"As you wish…" Ashura sneered, raising Will with his tail. With a crack of his snake tail, Ashura released Will and sent him hurling at Jayd through the air.

"TREY!" Jayd called out.

Without thinking, Trey barreled in front of Jayd and caught the boy. Landing with both feet on the ground, he then hopped out of the way as Ashura lunged from the tree at Jayd.

Gritting her teeth, Jayd raised her swords in an x formation to block the on coming attack from Ashura's claws. The beast, however, simply smirked as the moment his claws reached the point where Jayd's swords met, the talons of Ashura simply coiled around the blades and tore through them like mere sheets of paper.

Jayd gasped, checking Ashura in the gut with her shoulder and forearm before rolling back into a defensive stance.

"Syd!" Eli called to the rider as she cast aside the hilts of her broken swords, "Close quarters is out of the question with this one!"

Jayd slammed her fist down on the top of her buckle, ejecting the green striker die as the hilts of her broken swords dissolved into code. "Working on it," Jayd told her as she pulled out her orange hunter die and slammed it into the slot on her buckle.

Jayd gave her buckle a hard spin. "HUNTER!" roared the buckle as her coat turned bright orange, her quiver appearing on her right shoulder and crossbow in her left hand, "BURNING ARROW! FLY FREE!"

Jayd aimed her crossbow at Ashura then, pulling back on the trigger, fired a barrage of burning arrows upon the beast. With a slight yelp and a roar from both the snake and goat heads of the chimera, Ashura was pushed back from the force of the arrows and pinned to the tree behind him. Once violently pinned, the fire from the arrows began to burn the beasts fur and flesh.

Trey watched this, stunned speechless as the goat and snake heads writhed in agony. The lion that made up the beast's core however did not, snarling just as it did before as he narrowed his gaze upon Jayd.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Cried Will in Trey's arms.

"It's a long story," Trey told him, catching his breath as he eyed the rip he had entered from. "We gotta get you out of here."

"Not yet," Jayd told him, causing Trey and Will to look back at her. "If the fledgling leaving the plain will close, and we'll lose the gate keeper along with it."

Trey gulped then nodded in understanding. "You can take this one, right?"

Jayd smirked under her mask, "In theory."

With an inward flex of his biceps and upper forarms, the chimera pulled himself from the tree. The beast snarled, stepping forward before flexing his arms outward and thrusting out his chest causing the arrows to fire out from his body and rain down around Jayd, Trey and Will.

Will clung to Trey while Trey simply relaxed as the arrows came towards him, only to be shoved back by Jayd's free hand. Trey gasped as the arrows struck the ground, causing a boom beneath his feet with each hit.

"Watch yourself kid," Jayd told him, keeping her eyes fixed on Ashura.

Trey looked to Jayd, "But I thought-"

"Only spells phase through you," Jayd informed him, "physical projectiles still hurt."

"Right, got it," Trey nodded.

With a snarl, Ashura lunged towards Jayd with his claws flared out to either side of him. Jayd dashed to the right of the beast, unleashing arrow after arrow at him only for them to simply borrow into his skin without so much of a flinch from Ashura himself. Jayd aimed between the beast's eyes as the lion headed chimera adjusted its course to remain fixed upon Jayd as she dashed further and further from Will and Trey.

Firing one last shot, Jayd's arrow whistled through the air towards Ashura's head only for the beast's neck to crack and contort to allow his jaw to open wide and bite down on the arrow. With his tongue, he flipped the arrow around in his maw before firing it back at Jayd fast than she had initially shot it.

With a gasp, Jayd raised her crossbow to block the shot, feeling only the slightest kick backwards as the arrow drove itself into the metal plating of her crossbow. Lowering her bow, she was greeted with the face of Ashura who was mere inches away from her. The beast threw one of his claws at her, Jayd blocking the beast's claws with her crossbow once again only for it to be knocked from her hand by a violent swipe of Ashura's second claw.

Using the moment that Jayd's form was open, Ashura hurled his first claw at her gut in an uppercut only for the network rider to catch it at the last possible second.

"That lays my theory to rest…" Jayd smirked under her mask, turning to look Ashura in the eye. "You aren't after the fledgling, are you?"

The lion head snarled, the snake head hissing as it tilted its head to the side in confusion. "What makes you believe something like that?" the goat's head laughed, "Of course we seek the fledgling! You are simply in our way!"

"Then why cast him aside?" Eli asked, "and why target us exclusively, when we provided the perfect opening to claim him."

The goat's eyes shot open, turning to Jayd as it began to shake, "I… I uh, well you see we-" The lion's head grabbed the goat by the throat and tightened its grasp around her, "D-Darling…" the goat head choked in the hold of the beast's claws, "I can't breath…"

"Your voice…" snarled the lion, "it angers me."

"S-Sorry my love," the goat's head managed a grin, "I promise, I won't speak out of turn again!"

The lion glared at the goat, "I know you won't."

The lion crushed the goat's throat in his claw, then tore the head clean from his body and hurled it to the floor. Will and Trey, Jayd and Eli, even the snake head. All parties gasped in horror as the goat head hit the ground, dissolving to ash as it fell as limp as a deboned fish.

"It's true, the fledgling was no more than a trivial bonus," the lion head told Jayd as he stood up straight and loomed over her. "The true prize in this venture of mine… is you, network rider."

"Me?" Jayd questioned, "Why?"

"I heard you were strong," Ashura answered, "and I've been looking for a worthy opponent for a very long time." He snarled, raising his claw to Jayd. "However, you have thus far been no more than fodder. So very disappointing."

"Maybe I am today.." Jayd looked him in the eye, "but I won't be tomorrow."

Ashura halted his claw, drawing it back an inch before raising a brow at Jayd, "What was that?"

"Leave this field today, and return tomorrow," Jayd explained, "by then I'll be able to give you a challenge you will not forget."

Ashura laughed, looking Jayd up and down from head to toe, "Are you serious network rider?"

"Dead…" Jayd held her hand out to Ashura, "so, is that a deal or not?"

Ashura sneered from ear to ear then tightly gripped Jayd's hand, "Deal."

Upon a withered stage made of rotten wood and human bones, the Jester of the Court danced to a sad lullaby that was being played by an orchestra of merinet puppets dressed in maid outfits with the same pair of black bunny ears and shoulder length chestnut colored hair. From a seat near the back of the ruined auditorium, Maestro watched the previous scene through the reflection in the goblet of wine he sipped from.

Soon after the network rider and the beast shook hands, Ashura turned away from her and opened a rift back into the Gate Keeper's domain with the field returning to normal upon the beast's departure.

Seeing this, Maestro raised a brow, "The Emissary's champion retreated?" He smirked, downing the rest of his wine before casting the glass over his shoulder. "How amusing."

The glass shattered on the floor behind him, Maestro not realizing as a blue succubus with long raven hair and soul piercing yellow eyes emerged from the shadow behind him. "You enjoy watching as the other spires fail, brother?" the succubus asked, placing her cold hand upon Maestro's shoulder.

Maestro shuttered at the succubus' cold touch. "Not at all," he regained his grin as he looked up to the succubus before placing a delicate kiss upon her hand, "I was simply not expecting the embodiment of desire herself to grace me with her presence this day."

"I figured it was time I rejoin the fold," the succubus told him, "it's become so dull since my pet project concluded."

"Oh?" Maestro raised a brow at her, "so does this mean what I believe it does?"

"Of course brother," the succubus stretched out her wings, "Deseray the Temptress has finally come home."

Back in the football field, Trey placed Will down on the ground as Jayd approached the two males. Ejected her die from her buckle, she powered down and reverted to Syd before pulling down her hood.

"Syd!" Trey let out a breath of air as he ran up to her, "are you alright?"

"He knocked me around a bit," Syd grinned at Trey, patting him on the head, "but I'll live."

"H-HEY!" Will called out from the side, pointing a figure at the pair, "I need you two to explain what the hell is going on here!"

A sad look came to Syd's face, the network rider turning to face the boy and slowly but surely walking towards him.

"Of course, little one," she said as she knelt down in front of the boy and took hold of his hand, "what's your name?"

"Will…" he told her.

"I'm going to explain everything that's currently happening Will," Syd told him, "but first you need to tell me one thing."

Will, with a tremble, nodded to Syd, "Okay."

"What do you have…" syd spoke, "that makes you angry?"

Will blinked, "I'm not.. angry.." he muttered.

"You don't need to lie to me," Syd told him. "The fact that a beast like that came after you proves there is something that angers you, and there's no shame in admitting it." She stood up and placed her firm yet comforting hands upon the boy. "Now please tell me Will, what is it?"

**To be continued**

{Insert Ending Theme - "Again" by Beverly}


	4. 4th Revolution: Of Many Faces Part 2

**4th Revolution: Prove Yourself! That Which Fuels You?**

The rain poured down over a recently cleared out stadium, a man in an orange hoodie and sweatpants huddling under the back exit that led out to an alleyway. His still bloody and recently bandaged fists were tightly clenched inside his pockets, as were his teeth. His hood was up, acting to cover his heavily bruised face.

The back door opened, a squad of security guards leading a tall muscular man in a blue jogging suit out alongside a short man in a jacket of the same blue.

"Great job out there as always Oz," the short man complimented the tall one with a firm pat on the back, "poor guy didn't know what happened til it was over."

The tall man grinned, looking over to the smaller man, "Couldn't have done it without a good couch at my back."

The hooded man by the door sucked his teeth. "What a load of shit," he muttered.

"Huh?" The tall man named Oz looked over to the door, as did his couch and security guards. "Kai," he grinned, taking a step forward, "came to see the championship match?" He extended a warm hand to the hooded man, "Sorry for roughing you up the other night, no hard feelings right?"

Kai glared up to Oz, "Save it." The shorter male raised his fists, "I didn't come to suck off your ego. I came for what's mine."

Oz let out a heavy sigh, "Kai.. the competition is over." The taller male dug into his pocket, "look, how about I buy us a round and you can look to trying your hand again next year-"

Kai shot a right handed jab across Oz's face, stunning him for a moment and forcing him to stumble back a few steps. The security guards went for their belts, pulling out a taser each and aiming them at Kai.

"I'm sick of waiting," Kai snarled, raising his fists up at Oz, "we're settling this! Right here, right now!"

Oz just stared at him, holding his face before letting out a sigh. "Alright," he raised his now blood covered hand to the guards, signaling them to step back as he approached Kai as blood ran out from the taller male's nose.

The two men looked each other in the eye, Kai looking up to Oz with a fire filled glare while Oz looked down with only an ice cold glare. The two placed their closed fists together, Kai raising his fists and slamming them down hard upon Oz's knuckles. Staring at Kai for a moment, Oz then raised up his fists then slammed them down hard onto Kai's.

Kai winced as the sharp pain ruptured up from his knuckles and up to his shoulders, the raw pain being enough to break his tightly held fists and knock him to his knees. With one quick motion, Oz threw a hard jab right across Kai's face which knocked him from his knees and onto the ground on his side.

The shorter male, now dazed with his head spinning, lay there on the ground with his head in a puddle as a sharp ringing echoed through his ear. After what felt like an eternity in a daze, the ringing faded just as Oz's coach announced, "Ten.. match set," with an irritated sigh, "come on Oz, let's get you out of the rain."

"Better luck next time Kai," Oz waved to the down boxer, turning on his heel as his coach and security guards lead him out of the alleyway.

Kai glared at Oz as he walked off, his glare sharpening as his teeth gritted together into an even tighter and far more violent snarl. "No…" he growled like a beast, "this isn't what I wanted!"

"Then what did you want?" a voice echoed from behind him. Kai gasped, rolling his head until he lay flat on his back. There, perched high above him on the cables of far away power lines, was Selias glaring down at him. "To defeat him?" she smirked, "To kill him?"

"Of course I do…" Kai muttered weakly to the seraph, barely noticing the now blood red sky that loomed over his head, "but what's it to you?"

Selias held out her hand, a blood red orb made of flesh and covered in pulsing red veins forming in her palm, "I can grant that wish, for a price."

"You… you can do that?" Kai muttered, his stunned open eyes sharpening back into his determined gaze once again. "Then name your price, demon."

"Cast aside your humanity fledgling," Selias said, "and live among me and my beastly kin as my servant."

Kai laughed, "If it will allow me to destroy Oz, you can have my humanity," he told her. "Take it from my whole family if you want to."

"Then go," Selias dropped the orb of flesh upon Kai, "unleash your anger." The orb hissed, expanding rapidly the moment it struck Kai before consuming him whole, two two fragments of it breaking off and taking flight into the rain filled sky.

In a dimly lit house on the far end of town, a japanese woman with pin straight black hair stared out into the rain from her kitchen window. Placing the last dish from the set she was washing back into the cupboard, she let out a heavy sigh before shutting the cupboard tight.

"Kai…" she muttered under her breath, "where are you?" Looking over her shoulder to a simple table in the center of the kitchen, her eyes fell upon a small boy who lay asleep at his seat. "Okay tough guy," she managed a small grin as she walked over to the table and scooped up the boy, "let's get you to bed."

She took only two steps away from the table, and with her back turned to the still open window, the pair of flesh fragments lunged out from the black of night and drove themselves into the necks of both the woman and the child. The woman gasped, dropping the child to the floor as her whole body began to tremble.

"Satoko!" Kai's voice roared through her head as the flesh at the back of her neck began to expand outward, "Join me! Become one with me!"

"K-Kai?" she muttered. Her baby cried on the floor, but not for long as the flesh that had borrowed itself onto the boy's neck quickly expanded around him and enveloped the small child, constricting and reshaping him into the shape of a snake. The woman cackled, her voice became raspy as the flesh in her own neck began to consume her the same as the small boy, "Yes my dear! As you wish!" cried woman, goat horns ripping out from the top of her head.

Once enveloped in the fragments of flesh and pulsing veins, a pair of black holes emerged in the center of the woman and child, sucking them in before vanishing from site.

Back out in the rain covered alleyway, the blood red sky loomed above Oz, his coach and security team as a loud snarl erupted from behind them.

The couch jumped, looking over his shoulder, "What the hell was-"

He wasn't able to finish his sentence however, as a large humanoid chimera with the head of a lion shot out from the shadows and ripped the couch in half at the waist with a single swipe of his claws.

Oz shuttered and gasped, stumbling backwards as he trembled beneath the shadow of the beast, "MACK!" he cried out in horror at the sight of his couch's dismembered body.

"SIR! GET BACK!" shouted one security guard, the both of them getting between Oz and the beast before firing their tasers at it.

As the electrified needles pierced his skin, the chimera who now cleared had a goat's head on his shoulder and a snake for a tail, looked merely annoyed as he slowly looked towards the guards and walked towards them. Reaching forward, he grabbed one by his face then tossed him into the other, crushing the head of the guard he held skull and all as he stared down Oz.

"K-Kai…" shuttered Oz within the shadow of the beast, "is that you mate?"

"Not anymore," snarled the beast, dropping the broken body of the security guard he held to the ground before marching upon Oz. "We are the champion now... We are," he drove his free claw into Oz's gut, the champion coughing up blood as a result, "ASHURA!"

{Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

Early the next morning, Trey lay asleep on a bench in the annex with a simple grey blanket covering him. It wasn't until his ear caught the muttering just over his shoulder that he began to toss and turn before finally looking over his shoulder to Syd who, along with Eli, spoke into the annex's center terminal with large bolded green letters reading "Sound Only" on the main screen.

"The beast carved right through your blades?" called a digitally distorted voice in a purplexed tone, "Just with its claws?"

"Yes sir," Eli spoke as Syd nodded, "it surprised even myself when it happened."

"I see… that's concerning," the digital voice muttered, almost as if they were thinking out loud. "Network RiderJayd, I'll be needing to analyze your blades. Mind sending them over?"

Syd nodded, "Right away sir." She looked over to Torchwick, who was perched just overtop where Trey was sleeping, "Torchy, be a dear will you?"

"HOOT! HOOT!" cooed the mechanical owl eagerly, fluttering up from its perch only to plummet down upon Trey moments later. Upon landing on the boy, Torchwick squeezed a slight wince out from Trey before finally fluttering up and over to the display racks where the still broken swords of Jayd's striker form were housed.

Torchwick landed on top of the case displaying Jayd's swords, a loud click sounding off the moment the owl's feet touched the large display case. Torchwick then closed his eyes, a faint chirping emitting out from him as a bright flash of emerald light erupted from the case. Once the light faded and Torchwick's eyes reopened, Trey gasped as he saw the broken hilts had vanished.

"Whoa…" he muttered, getting up from his bed quietly to inspect the case.

"Annnd there," Syd said with a grin as she looked back to the terminal, "you should be receiving them soon sir."

"Thank you Network Rider Jayd," Syd's commander said back to her. As they spoke to Syd and Eli, Trey's gaze drifted down from the display cases down to a rack loaded up with several vials of jaydite. "I'll make repairs and adjustments as quickly as I can, though I'll have you know it may take a while. I have other network riders with equipment in need of repairs," Syd's commander continued. Partially out of curiosity, but mostly out of boredom, Trey picked up one of the vials and began fiddling with it lightly in his hand.

"I don't suppose there'd be a way for us to be placed at the top of the que?" Eli asked, "My contractor will be needing her improved swords within the next couple of hours."

The commander's voice huffed, "I am far from a miracle worker Eli," they told him. "Even if I bumped you two up, do you have any idea how hard it'd be to get a job like this done in such a short amount of time?"

Syd clapped her hands together and grinned nervously. "Sir, we'd be willing to make it worth your while," she pleaded.

Trey looked back to the terminal, his hands slipping as he did so resulting in the vial he held to fall out from his hands. "Oh crap!" he muttered under his breath, attempting to catch the vial only for it to fall behind the rack itself.

The commander fell silent, then spoke, "Network Rider Jayd…" her tone shifter to a far more serious one, "is there someone inside your annex?"

Syd swallowed hard, her gaze shifting to Trey with wide eyes and shrunken pupils. She raised a finger to her lips as she looked to Trey, then lowered her hand as she turned back to the terminal. "Well… sort of?"

"Define "sort of"," instructed Syd's commander.

Trey cleared his throat, then stepped forward. "I'm Trey Morgan-Hart, sir…" he told her directly. "I was a fledgling involved with Syd's last encounter. I'm not causing any trouble for her and Eli, am I?"

There was a long pause from the commander, then finally. "Syd?" the commander questioned, "Who is that?"

"Syd is the name given to my contractor sir," Eli informed the commander, "this Fledgling, Trey, gave her that name himself."

"He.. named her Syd?" the commander paused once again, then let out a small sigh, "but why is he still with the two of you? Did you not sever his link to the Gate Keeper's realm?"

"We tried sir," Eli said, "yet a fledgling the boy remains."

"I see…" the commander said after a moment of contemplation, "then I know exactly how you two can repay me for the rushed order."

Syd nodded. "We're listening," she and Eli both nodded in unison.

"Ensure the boy's safety while he is under your care," the commander told them, "is that clear?"

Syd nodded once again. "Yes sir, of course sir," the both said in unison once more.

"Good. Now, Trey was it?" the commander asked, turning their attention to the boy in front of the terminal. "Is there anything you would like to say?"

"Yes, thank you sir," Trey bowed, "and, can I ask you one question?"

"Shoot," the commander said.

Trey rose to stand up right again, "Jewel Hart, do you know anyone by that name?"

An audible gasp came out from the terminal, "Child… how is it you know that name?"

"She was my mother," Trey held up the silver heart necklace he wore. "She gave me this late one night when I was little, then she disappeared.. My father, Owen Morgan-Hart, says she was a network rider like Syd."

"She was child, and a strong one at that," the commander informed him. "You should count yourself lucky to have had her as a mother."

"Was?" Trey questioned, feeling his heart sink. "What… happened to her?"

"Fledgling Trey, that's something I will not disclose over an intercom," the commander told him. "Should we ever meet face to face… we'll talk about your mother, okay?"

"I would appreciate that, thanks," Trey nodded, then grinned. "I'm sorry, sir, but is there something I can call you other than sir?"

A faint chuckle echoed from the terminal, "I like you, fledgling Trey," the commander told him. "Call me Cleric."

Deep within the gate keeper's network, Ashura stood in the center of a pit-like arena with ten other gate keepers surrounding him. Staring them down, Ashura bared his claws at the beasts surrounding him as they lunged towards him. With one claw he effortlessly cut down half of the oncoming force with a simple strike, with his other claw he carved up the remaining half.

As this transpired, the snake-like tail of Ashura whimpered quietly behind him, "Mother…" it muttered as it at the marred shoulder where the goat's head once was.

Upon seeing his victory, Selias sucked her teeth from where she perched up above on her skeletal ring. "If he could destroy all of these beasts… then why?" she snarled, "Why would he retreat when he had the network rider within his claw?"

"Perhaps sister," a voice cooed from just over the seraph's shoulder, "your champion truly fears said network rider?"

Selias turned, her jaw hanging open when she laid eyes upon the pale blue succubus that now loomed over her. "Sister Deseray…" she muttered with a glimmer in her eye. The seraph then, without warning, rose to her feet and threw her arms tightly around the succubus, "Finally, you have returned."

"Indeed I have Sister Selias," the succubus cooed softly, gently running her hand over the seraph's burning hot feathers, "and now that I have…" She looked down to the arena where Ashura stood staring back at the two sisters, "Everything will be set right."

Will stood by the goal posts in the school field, watching as the sun rose of the city while tapping his foot quicker and quicker as the seconds turned into minutes.

"Come on, come on!" he muttered under his breath as he looked at his watch on his wrist as it struck half past seven, "Seven am sharp, that's what you said isn't it?"

"YO!" Syd's voice echoed from far away, "GOOD TO SEE YOU MADE IT KID!"

Will quickly looked over his shoulder to see Syd and Trey coming into the school yard from the front gate. Trey let out a yawn while Syd munched down on a jaydite ice pop, her eyes closed as the pair walked towards Will at a leisurely pace.

"You're late!" Will barked at Syd, kicking a ball in her direction.

Trey gasped, looking towards Syd who's eyes were still closed as she swallowed her treat. Raising a single hand, she caught the oncoming ball in her palm. With a yawn, she released it and let it fall to the ground.

"You arrived at seven on the dot yeah?" She asked as she finished her ice pop. "Well, we intended to arrive at seven thirty. So neither one of us is really late now, are we?"

Trey blinked, looking towards Syd, "You gave him the wrong time on purpose?"

"That's right?" Syd nodded.

"But why!" Will piped up, "with that thing after me, can we really afford to be messing around like this?!"

"It was a test Fledgling Will," Eli's voice echoed as Syd narrowed her gaze upon him, "to test both your patience and your anger."

"And judging by your tone," Syd said as she placed her foot on the ball in front of her, "you've already got one strike."

Suddenly, Syd kicked up the ball then sent it flying at Will from where he stood by the net. With a gasp, Will rolled out of the ball's path as it flew with a swish into the goal's netting.

"This girl is crazy!" Will panted like crazy, looking from side to side only to not see her anywhere in front of him, "Just who the hell is she?!"

"Starting today I'm your instructor, that's all you need to know" Syd said, appearing behind him as she picked him up from the ground and pushed him out from the net. "I'll be giving you three tests today Will. You failed test one, now let's move on to test number two."

"Whoa! Whoa!" Will held his hands up at Syd, "Can I at least get the rules first?! What sort of test is this?!"

"Don't worry, this part is simple," Syd smirked before kicking the ball over to him and assuming a wide stance with her hands resting at the ready by her sides. "Get as many goals against me as you can kiddo."

From the side lines, Trey simply blinked. "Is this really necessary?" he muttered to himself.

Will stared at the ball, kicking it back and forth between his feet for a moment. In silence, he kicked it back and forth once again before looking with a narrowed gaze at Syd. Winding his foot back, he kicked the ball forward with all that he had which was more than enough to send it spiralling towards the goal and past her shoulder.

"Damn," she whistled as the ball seemed to slow her in point of view, "nice kick for a kid."

"Agreed," Eli said, Syd reaching her hand over her shoulder and back towards the ball, "however… he'll need more than brute force to succeed." Syd nodded, catching the ball once again with ease in the palm of her hand.

"Nice shot, but it needs a bit of work," Syd told Will as she tossed the ball back at him. "Why don't we give it another shot?"

Will stared at the ball, watching as it rolled towards him and forced to a halt upon hitting his feet. Gritting his teeth together, Will tightened his fists before closing his eyes shot and looking further away from the ball.

"WHY?!" he barked, "What the bloody hell is even the point?! I won't ever get better no matter what I do!" Syd and Trey stood in silence, only being able to watch as the now shaking muttered a ever so slight sob as tears began to roll out from his eyes and down his cheeks. "To hell with it all…" he breathed, wiping his tears from his eyes, "I don't even care anymore about this stupid game."

Without a word, Syd approached him and cupped his cheek. "Then why are you so angry about it?" she asked him, wiping the tears from his other eye.

Will gasped, his eyes opening as he looked up to the woman in front of him, "What… what was that?" he managed to ask her.

Syd grinned, stooping down to her knees as she picked up the ball, "Clearly it does matter, at least to you, this little game of yours. Sure, you might have given up on it, but I'm not gonna give up on you just yet." She reached out and messed up the boy's hair, "Now tell me, what about this game you play has you so angry?"

"There's this boy.. Ronnie," Will explained, taking in a gulp as he looked Syd in the eye, "he's making it a pain… just cause he's the team captain."

"He doesn't think you're good enough," Syd said, "does he?"

Will nodded, "Plus he thinks he's the best there is."

"God, he sounds like a real twat don't he?" Syd laughed as she stood back up, "Thing is about people like him. They never improve, and it's all because they believe they don't have to." She clapped the ball in both her hands, her grin widening as she looked upon Will, "You on the other hand are a different story, now how about we give it another go?"

Will stared at the woman in front of him, a sparkle in his eyes as his frown soon turned into a grin. The boy nodded, "Ya! Let's do it!" he cheered.

In a darkened lab littered with spare parts, half finished experiments and scattered paper work, a woman in a white lab coat with long blond hair done up in an over the shoulder braid typed away at a terminal with only the glaring red overhead bulbs acting as the only source of light in the room. To her one side was a glass case containing Syd's still broken striker blades, and to the other a half empty coffee cup and o two empty ones with heavy dried up stains at the base of them.

The blond woman, while still typing away with one hand, reached for her coffee with the other. "Reforge the blade, density times one hundred to withstand cutting force," she sipped her coffee, Syd's striker blade reconstructing itself only with a jet black color in place of its original glimmering silver hue. "For the beasts fur… jaydite coating will add to the cutting power," she continued to type, a vibrant green edge appearing on the sharp side of the blade.

As the woman worked, Eli's voice echoed out from her terminal. "Cleric," he spoke, "we're just about ready to engage, are my contractor's swords ready yet?"

The woman smirked, hitting a button on her terminal. "As they'll ever be Eli," she told Eli, "that beast won't know what hit it until it's head lays severed on the ground."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Ashura stood at the mouth of a tunnel leading out from the Gate Keeper's realm to the human realm. The snake that was the beast's tail whimpered from behind him, the beast snarling before grabbing the snake by the throat.

"Quit your insufferable sobbing boy!" Roared the beast, pulling the snake head to his own and looking him dead in the eye, "Or you'll share your mother's fate!"

"Ashura," spoke the firm voice of Selias, the beast looking back into the void of the tunnel to where an amber flame now stood. "Spare your young your verbal lashings… there are more important matters for you to see to."

Ashura sneered, releasing the snake's head from his grasp. The snake, once freed, coiled around Ashura's waist and shuttered.

"Fear not Lord Selias," said the beast, turning on his heel to face the tunnel's exit, "I'll avenge that pet of yours."

Selias narrowed her gaze up Ashura from beyond the flame, watching from her ring of bones with her arms crossed as the beast made his way out of the tunnel of cables.

"You had better…" Selias muttered, "for your own sake."

At the school field, Will sat on the bleachers lacing up his runners with an unsteady hand. Pulling one shoe tight with a firm pull, Will then rose his feet before slamming then down on the ground. Upon hitting the ground, both sets of his laces instantly came undone, the boy letting out a tired huff as a result.

"Nervous Will?" Trey asked, coming up from beside him.

Will let out a sigh, then nodded. "I can hardly breath…" Will said, gripping his chest as he looked out to the field.

Ronnie stood out by the goal, smirking back at Will before making a rude gesture towards him.

Will looked away from Ronnie, his eyes landing as his untied shoes. "What am I gonna do?"

"First, we are gonna get those shoes tied," Trey told him, kneeling done before double knotting both of Will's laces before pulling them tight. "There," he grinned at the boy, "how's that? Not too tight I hope?"

Will shook his head, "No, it's perfect…" he gulped, moving his gaze from his laces to the older male in front of him. "Please tell me I've got what it takes to prove to Ronnie I can do this."

"Sorry, but I can't…" Trey told him, placing a firm hand on Will's shoulder, "because you don't. People like Ronnie, they'll never approve of people like you or me."

Will huffed, looking away from Trey, "That's helpful-"

"Let me finish!" Trey cut him off, grabbing the boy by his chin and turning Will's head back towards his own to meet his gaze. "Take this from someone who wanted to hear these words long ago.. you have nothing to prove to anyone. Just do your best, and have fun. Okay Will?"

Will stared at Trey in silence for a good long while. He took in a big gulp, about to say something when suddenly a whistle blew from the center of the field.

"ALRIGHT! EVERYONE TO THEIR POSITIONS!" called a couch who stood in the center of the field, which caused Will to jump as he turned on his heel.

The moment he did, he locked eyes with Ronnie who was staring at him with a cocky smirk. Will narrowed his gaze at Ronnie only for a moment before looking away and heading to the center of the field.

The moment Will left his side, a loud buzzer sounded off from Trey's pocket. The young man fished out the source of the buzzing, a small disk with a speaker and a small flashing green light on the top of it. Once in the palm of his hand, he hit a red button on the side of it and put it to his ear.

"Syd?" Trey asked, shifting from side to side, "Where are you?"

"You got your eyes on the kid?" Syd answered Trey's question with one of her own.

Trey nodded "Looks like they're about to start tryouts…" he told her, "you sure you don't need me on the same plane as you?"

"Nope, besides we need you on the surface to keep an eye on things," Syd explained.

"Okay…" Trey returned, scratching his head a bit, "and I'm to do that… how?"

"It's within the communicator we gave you Fledgling Trey," Eli cut in, "simply unfold it and you'll be able to see into the Gate Keeper's domain from your own."

Trey lowered the communicator from his ear and, after inspecting the device for a moment or two, found a small groove that led into a line which ran around the entire device. "Oh," he muttered, digging a nail into the groove and popping it open.

On the inside of one half was a small lense piece and on the other was a clip that looked like it was made to fit his ear. Trey then fastened it to his ear, finding that he could see perfectly out the lense.

"You figure it out kid?" Syd asked.

"Yeah," Trey nodded, "so you want me to make sure that Will doesn't leave the field right?"

"Not exactly," Syd told him, "we just need you to keep him safe."

"But won't the gate keeper plane you're in collapse if he leaves it?" Trey asked, a bit puzzled by the seemingly contradictory information.

"No it won't Fledgling Trey," Eli's voice echoed into his ear, "because Ashura this time… will be forming his domain around Syd and myself."

At the mention of this, Trey gasped as his eyes widened, "You're counting on that beast doing that?"

Far away from where Trey sat on the bleachers, Jayd stood in their Striker form at the top of the school building. "Counting on?" she said, smirking under her mask, "We made sure of it."

Suddenly, the sky above Jayd turned blood red and a withered down skull hung in place of the sun. With their eyes darting behind them, Jayd laid eyes upon Ashura who now loomed over them with their claws flared out to either side of the beast.

"My apologies Fledgling Trey," Eli spoke as Jayd quickly drew their swords to block an oncoming strike from both of Ashura's claws, "our three o'clock has arrived."

Back at the field, Trey kept his eyes on Will as he fixed the communicator to his ear and placed the scanner over his eye.

"Hey! No way, it's you!" Lizz's voice echoed from over Trey's shoulder, the young man turning to just in time to see the girl he met yesterday come up to him with a smile on her face and the box Trey had saved in her hands. "This seat taken?" she asked, pointing to the spot on the bleachers next to Trey.

Trey shook his head. "No, go right ahead," he said, motioning to the seat beside him.

Lizz sat beside him, placing the box on her lap, "So what brings you here today stranger?" her grin widened, "you got a younger sibling trying out today or something?"

"Actually I uh…" Trey paused for a moment, swallowed, then with a grin told her, "I used to go to this school not too long ago. Sure, I wasn't on the team exactly, but I always make sure to come back and cheer on the newcomers when try-outs start."

As Trey spoke, Jill's eyes began to sparkle. She then reached out her hand and took hold of his, "You're a cinnamon roll!" she told him, "Please tell me some lucky someone swooped you up off your feet and begged you to marry them!"

Trey sweat dropped, "Well, believe me I had my eye on someone but," he gulped, "he shot me down, pretty hard."

Liz gasped, then covered her mouth with her free hand, "Oh.. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"Hey, it's okay," Trey assured her. "Thinking about it, he didn't deserve me anyway." He then looked down to the box on Liz's lap, "what is that anyway?"

Suddenly, the coach blew his whistle causing Liz to look forward to the field as the game was starting. She glanced to Trey in the corner of her eye and winked at him, "You'll see after the game, okay?"

"GAME ON!" shouted the coach, Will and the forward player facing opposite him locking eyes with one another at the blow of the whistle.

Darting forward, Will and the opposing forward rushed for the ball with Will managing to swipe the ball with his foot and carry it past his current road block. Kicking the ball forward as he ran away from the center of the field, Will turned his gaze towards his real target, Ronnie, who stared him down with a cocky smirk and hands at the ready.

"Come on little William," Ronnie chuckled under his breath, glancing over to Liz at the stand whose eyes were fixed on Will, "show her just how much of a failure you are."

Back in the Gate Keeper's plain, Ashura slashed his claws down upon Jayd's blades with heavier and heavier blows as his breath began to sound more and more strained with each swing of his claws.

"What's wrong little kitty?" Jayd smirked under their mask, raising her blades to lock Ashura's claws into a parry, "finding it more difficult to break my swords this time?"

"You loathsome little pest!" Ashura snared, breaking Jayd's parry with a violent swing of his claws, Jayd's swords remaining intact, "No way in all of this world is there anyone stronger than me! What did you do!"

Jayd laughed, raising her sword to allow Ashura to notice the collar. "We adapted," Eli informed him, "the blades you shattered have been remade with the strength of your claws in mind."

Ashura gasped, a chill running down his spine. In the split second it took for him to gasp however, Jayd vanished from in front of him and appeared directly behind him with both her swords raised skyward above her head.

"Which means," Jayd declared, bridging her swords down upon Ashura, "they'll never break!"

Ashura snarled, and before Jayd's swords could make contact with his body, he grabbed the head of the snake that was his tail with one claw and the base of his tail with the other. With a sudden upward thrust of both of his arms, Ashura threw his snake tail into the path of Jayd's blade. Jayd and Eli both gasp as, in two places, the snake was severed from Ashura's body.

"Father…" hissed the snake as it fell from its father, crumbling to ash before it could so much as hit the ground, "why…"

"I'll secure my title as the strongest!" Ashura snarled, lashing his claws towards Jayd who leapt backwards in a flip before landing on her feet as the beast continued to advance towards her, "No matter the cost!"

Back on the field, Will darted towards the goal with the ball by his feet. Two opposing players came at him from either side, one kicking her foot forward to swipe the ball only for Will to kick it up off the ground and hop over the girl's kick. Landing on the ground with the ball still at his feet, Will locked his gaze upon Ronnie before continuing towards the goal.

Ronnie, as Will drew closer and closer towards him, smirked ear to ear before beating his fists together as he readied himself to counter whatever the boy before him had planned. As Will came to the crease of the goal, he raised his foot behind him, then hurled the ball forward with one of the hardest kicks he had given in his life.

Back with Jayd, the hooded warrior dodged each of Ashura's strikes with ease then hurled a roundhouse kick into the beast's side once she had an opening. The self mutilated beast let out a roar of agony, the kick being the straw which broke the already worn down beast's back.

"Ashura of Many Faces," Jayd declared, popping her green striker die out from her driver, "do you know the reason why you lost this day?"

Ashura panted and huffed, holding his side as he glared, teeth bared, at Jayd, "Because you cheated me!" he roared, slamming his fists down on the ground, the image of Oz appearing over Jayd as tears began to flow out from his eyes, "You've always cheated me from the title I rightfully deserve!"

"No, you pitifully fallen warrior," Eli's voice came out from Jayd's gauntlet as she pulled out her red finisher die and placed it into her buckle, "it is because you declared yourself the strongest… that your ability to improve was stricken from you."

"FINAL ROLL!" cried out Jayd's buckle before the hooded warrior gave the die a hard spin then landed on, "FIVE! LETHAL STRIKE!"

"Game over," Jayd said coldly as she stared down Ashura, green energy swirling around her swords before darting forward and cutting through the beast in an x formation. Ashura, once hit, recoiled his back and let out a deafening roar as his form exploded to bits in a cloud of green smoke and fluid.

Back on the field, Will stood at the crease, panting heavily as Ronnie smirked back at him with the ball in his hands. "See, what did I tell ya?" he laughed, "you're nothing, so you might as well just quit right now!"

Will, with a shrug, took his eyes off Ronnie and turned on his heel before proceeding to walk off the field.

"HEY!" Ronnie shouted at him, "I'M TALKING TO YOU WET WILLIE!"

Will stopped, but didn't turn to face his heckler, "I have nothing to prove to you Ronnie," he gave him a wave, "have a good season."

Ronnie gasped, gritting his teeth together into a snarl as Will walked away from him, "YA! You think you're just so high and mighty now!" He gripped the ball in his hands, hurling it with all his might at Will, only for it to strike the goal post and bounce back at Ronnie with enough force to smack him in the face and knock him to the ground.

As Will reached the bleachers, Liz came up to him and hugged him with one arm, and holding her box in the other. "There's my all-star," she smiled at him before kissing him on the cheek, "you gave it your best, right?"

"You bet your sweet face I did," Will smiled back at Liz and nodded, "but as much as I love this game, I'm not a big fan of being on a team as someone as toxic as Ronnie."

"So what're you gonna do?" Liz asked him.

"Maybe look into playing with a recreational league somewhere," Will said as he stretched his arms, "then make sure I go to a different high school than Ronnie, then make sure I get on the team there and give it my all."

"Yes," Liz cheered quietly, pumping her arm inward towards her chest.

"On to more pressing matters," Will grinned, pointing to the box in his girlfriend's free arm, "what's in there?"

Liz looked to the box, then blushed, "Well… I was saving it until we got to your place later, but," she held up the box and opened it up, Will's eyes lighting up as he saw a beautiful soccer themed cake with the words 'My Champion" written on top of it, "now harm in showing you now, am I right love?"

Will looked at her, grabbing her by the arm before pulling her towards him and placing a kiss upon her lips. As this happened, Trey watched with a grin on his face as Syd's voice came over the intercom.

"Trey, my boy," greeted Syd, "the cat's been declawed, how're things over there?"

"All clear, everything is wrapping up-" Trey told her, looking across the field through the lens of the communicator only to sticken silent by the image of the Jester. who was staring back at him.

The Jester raised their hand to the lips on their mask, as if to send a signal to Trey before giving him a cutesy wave and fading away with a curtsy from of their skirt.

"... nicely…" Try finally said as a shiver ran down his spine.

"Good," Eli's voice came in clear. "Meet us back at the front gates, it's high time we make preparations to leave this city."

"Wait, but what about Will?" Trey asked into the ear piece, standing up from the bleachers. "Isn't he still a fledgling?"

"There's far too many people around him right now Trey," Syd told him. "I'll track him down before we leave to perform the severance ritual. After that, not a single Gate Keeper will bother touching him ever again. You got that?"

Trey breathed a sigh of relief, then nodded, "Right… I got you."

"Good," Syd laughed, "now get over here already."

Back in the Gate Keeper's tunnel of cables, Selias upon her skeletal ring snarled heavily with her teeth gritted as tight as they could go. "Damn you network rider!" she uttered as she slammed her tightly knit fist into the jagged bones of her perch, her perch breaking her skin and drawing blood as she did so, "how many of my young must you steal from me until you're satisfied with yourself?"

"Ashura's passing was surely a great one, sister Selias," Maestro called out to the seraph from the ledge below the hoop she was suspended overtop of, "but one we can surely recover from." He stared down into the bit below, "Shall I assume you're working on assigning another warrior to fill his place?"

"Another warrior?" Selias glared at Maestro, "my children are far more than bodies to throw to the slaughter… and I have already cut too many of their lives short in such a fruitless pursuit."

Deseray, who stood beside Maestro, tilted her head to the side as she watched Selias with a blank expression, "So.. you have given up after just two then?"

"Given up?" Selias scoffed, turning her head away from her siblings. "View it as such if you wish, I refuse to allow anymore to die so pointlessly. If that's the fate you wish upon your kin, leave mine out of it."

The moment her sister turned her back to her, a devious smirk appeared upon Deseray's face. "You hear that brother?" asked the blue succubus as she turned to face Maestro, "the ball has fallen into your court."

"So it has," he bowed to his sisters, "I shall go wake Megora then."

"Megora?" Deseray raised a brow, "you'd trust something as important as this to a mimic so… emotionally distraught as her?"

"Do not doubt my creations dearest sister," Maestro said as a smirk appeared upon his own face. "Any who do so, are doomed to become one themselves."

**To be continued**

{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}


	5. 5th Revolution: The Impaled Part 1

**5th Revolution: Loneliness, the Self-Loathing Fledgling?**

In a state of the art university at the top of a grassy green hill, a lone female student with pale skin and long black pin straight hair sat in the art room with her sketch book opened to a blank page on a desk in front of her. With her pencil gripped in her hand, she held it to her page as her hand gradually trembled more and more with each passing moment. She was dressed in an oversized plain white sweater, and a long black skirt that went past her knees with simple pale blue flats adorning her feet.

On the table beside her sketchbook was her phone which was open to the photo of a girl about her age. Her hair was short, wavey and chestnut brown. She had a heavy tan, and from the angel of the photo her hot pink t-shirt was the only bit of clothing that could be seen. Not like that was a major detail in comparison to the beaming grin she had on her face which was pointed towards her photographer in addition to her hands which were pointed like a pair of guns at the camera.

The artist, with her eyes shifting between her page and her phone, eventually let out a heavy sigh and placed down her pencil.

"Why?" she huffed, ringing her hand through her hair, "why must you be so-"

"SAMMY!" a chiper and excited voice suddenly cried out from behind the artist, causing her to jump. The artist, named Samantha, turned in her chair to see the subject of her photograph run towards her before throwing her arms around her. "There you are," the girl gave Samantha a quick kiss on the top of her lip, "I was looking all over for ya."

Samantha blushed, "Amy…" she cupped the girl's hand with her own, locking her phone and closing her book with her free hand before dodging the other girl's gaze, "you knew I'd be here working late."

"Ya I did," Amy frowned playfully before blowing a raspberry on Samantha's cheek, "but now you're done." Amy grinned, taking a step away from Samantha and taking her by her hands, "Now come on, we're going for dinner."

Samantha groaned, falling limp to fight being pulled up from her seat, "Amy… why?"

"Because, I'm hungry and you're gorgeous," Amy pulled Samantha up harder before hugging tightly, patting the pale girl in her arms on the top of her head. "Now let me take my gorgeous girlfriend out to dinner, okay?"

Samantha let out a sigh of defeat, then looked up to Amy, "Okay…" she blinked, "but let me get back to work after? Please Amy?"

Amy giggled, placing a gentle kiss on Samantha's lips. "Okay," she cooed in a voice softer than silk, taking hold of Samantha's hands before leading her to the door of the classroom, "now let's get going."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

Rain poured down from a clear night sky, a laughing crescent moon hanging among the stars shaped light dolls in lolita style dresses as the Maestro of the Macabre wondered the desolate soaked streets of a dilapidated replica of the city of london in the victorian era. With the rain evaporating before it so much as touched his cloak, the Maestro approached the ruins of what appeared to be a theatre where two doll-like creatures stood in wait for him.

They both wore dresses in the same style as the stars in the sky, their hair tied back and faces covered with smiling masks with the likeness of a bunny rabbit. The only difference between the two were the colors of dress and mask they wore. The one to the Maestro's right was in black, while his left was in white.

"Welcome back, my spyre of loneliness," the two dolls said in unison as they bowed before the maestro. "We were beginning to worry for your well being."

"Clover," cooed the Maestro as he cupped the white doll's mask, he then looked to the black doll's and cupped her mask as well, "Poppy…" A gentle grin came to his face and he pulled the two of them into a warm compassionate hug, "what sort of spyre would I be if I abandoned you all here?"

As he spoke, many more doll-like creatures skipped across the rainy streets, laughing as they played in an endless game of tag. One, a blond doll in a pink dress without arms and a cloth covering her eyes, stopped and stared at Maestro. Despite the fabric covering her eyes, her face lit up into a grin then continued to run after the other doll-like creatures, "HEY! THE MAESTRO'S RETURNED!" she cried out as she ran.

Watching this, the Maestro grinned as he patted Poppy and Clover on the head, "Seems as though I was missed more than I knew."

"Of course you were," Poppy said in a neutral tone as Clover hugged the Maestro, "us mimics would be lost without you guiding our strings."

With a sniffle into the Maestro's sleeve, Clover nodded, "It's your melody that guides us, my spyre." She looked up to him, "It's what gives us purpose."

"And the two of you should not forget that fact," Maestro told them, maintaining his grin as he patted them both on the head. "Now then," he rose to his feet, "have either of you two seen Megora around? I am in need of her."

Clover and Poppy nodded, gesturing to the theatre before them, "She's practicing, same as she always does."

"Perfect, thank you my flowers," he bowed to them before proceeding up the theatre steps with a purpose filled stride, making it to the front door within moments.

As he entered the door into a long twisting hallway, he was greeted to a sad, a haunting yet somehow comforting melody echoed from the depths of the hallway itself. The Maestro continued his walk down that very passageway. Along the way, he passed my paintings that were hung on the wall, each one of a beautiful girl or woman facing some form of despair or torment. That was until he passed by each painting, which resulted in the girl it depicted to transform into a mimic grinning ear to ear.

The Maestro continued down the hall until he came to a painting that had been taken off the wall, it's canvas torn and defaced with it's frame broken into pieces. Upon seeing this, the Maestro's grin faded as he knelt down and picked up a fragment of the picture's frame.

"I know it's hard my flower," he said in a calm voice, his eye looking to the other side of the hall opposite the desecrated painting to find the Jester of the Court curled up into the feedle position with her back to the ruined portrait, "but you cannot go destroying your history every time you do not get your way."

The jester growled, turning only her head to face the Maestro and glare at him.

"I know you wish to play with the network rider my flower," the Maestro told her as the pieces of the painting that still littered the ground picked themselves up and towards the frame fragment that the spyre held, "and believe me, you will."

As the pieces came together, Jester turned around fully and looked at it. The mimic stared at the girl in the painting who stood behind an open doorway in shadows with tears in her eyes while another girl with red hair stood just beyond the open doorway basked in the light. With a heavy huff, the Jester averted their gaze and looked away from it.

"Jester," Maestro glared at his servant, taking hold of her chin as he released the painting and it retook its place on the wall. "I need you watch this, and remember it," he guided her gaze to the painting, the picture shifting as the girl in shadows transformed into the Jester of the Court, the present day Jester snarling as the version of her in the portrait tor through the doorway and drove its claws into the red haired girls chest, "it's remembering this pain that will make you strong my flower."

The jester shuttered, watching as the painting hung itself on the wall and froze on the image of her in a profile view holding the red haired girl high above her head. Pictured upon the Jester's mask in the portrait, a smirk which suggested pride while the limp red haired girl simply cupped the jester's face with a look on her face which only suggested sadness and regret.

"Yes… my spyre," the Jester spoke, "I will."

Maestro's eyes widened in shock, looking upon the Jester as a smirk appeared on her face. "You've finally managed the strength to speak?"

Jester looked to the Maestro and nodded. "Forgive me," she bowed, "it took me sometime to… how do I put this?"

Maestro pinched her cheek, "Adjust?" Jester nodded once again. "As do all of mimics once I have rescued them from their torment. However, your adjustment couldn't have come at a better time my flower."

Jester tilted their head to the side, "How so my spyre?"

"Selias has passed dealing with the network rider onto us," he told her, "is that not wonderful?"

Jester froze for a moment, then she laughed, "Only if I get to fight her."

"You play time with her will come," Maestro's gaze sharpened upon the Jester, "but it is not now…" he gently placed his hands on both her shoulders, "I could not forgive myself if I threw you at her before you were ready."

The jester snarled, "BUT I'M READY NOW!" she barked, slamming her foot down on the floor, "I'VE BEEN READY SINCE SHE DROVE ME TO BECOMING THIS!"

Suddenly, Maestro delivered a quick but hard back handed slap across Jester's face which sent her slamming into the wall. "No you're not Jester," he spoke as Jester fell to the floor, "were you not listening to me?"

The Jester shuttered, staring up at the Maestro as her whole body began to shake under her master's shadow, "But I just-"

Maestro snapped his fingers, causing a curved sword with the handle of a bat to form in his closed fist. "But you just what?" he glared at her as he aimed his blade at the mimic by his feet, "Asking to die?"

The Jester shook her head, "N-No my spyre…"

"Good," he pulled back his sword, dispersing the moment he released his hold on it, "now on your feet." He continued down the hall, his now narrowed gaze fixed firmly on the pair of double doors at the end of it.

Jester, without a word, climbed back to her feet and followed behind the Maestro. The pair reached the doors in moments, the doors opening up without the Maestro so much as needing to touch them. They walked through and into an auditorium that had its seats filled with shadows all with faces that resembled the theatre mask for comedy. The sad comforting melody was now all around them as the duo walked down through the fully seated pues towards a circular stage in the center of it.

Upon the stage was a pale white marionette like woman in a two piece black leotard, the bottoms of which were covered by a mesh skirt that went down to her knees in an almost web like pattern. The mimic danced to the melody, her back currently to the Maestro and the Jester as they approached, allowing Jester to see only one other defining feature of the mimic before her, the fact that while her right arm was fully in tact, her left arm from the elbow down was nothing more than an incomplete stump.

"Megora," Maestro announced as he reached the stage, the dancing mimic freezing in place the moment her name was called, "I am in need of you."

Megora lowered her limbs to her side, then turned only her head to reveal she wore a mask similar to the audience that was watching her; only this one bore the expression which was used to represent the genre of tragedy.

"For what purpose…" she spoke in a strained, almost exhausted voice, "my spyre?"

In the human realm, Trey and Syd sat at a table at a somewhat ritzy cafe. Trey had a sandwich and soda in front of him while Syd munched down on a bowl of ice cream in front of her that had already been topped with jaydite. Trey, having taken a decent bite out of his sandwich, now sat looking out the window to the university at the top of the rolling green hill.

"One of these days, I'm gonna stop looking at every new place we go as some new wonder of the world," Trey said with a tear in his eye, "but.. This place is just beautiful."

As Syd ate, Eli's voice came out from the gem on her bracetlet, "You mean that university, or the town as a whole?"

Trey thought for a moment, then shrugged a bit, "A bit of column a and a bit of column b?" he returned. He then looked back to the building at the top of the hill, "Wait, that's a university?"

"Jewel's University for Exceptional Women," Eli told him, "one of three campus' across France, and one of the few all girl's universities left in the area it would seem."

"Jewel…" Trey muttered, looking over to Eli, "Wait, that's my mother's name. You mean she set up that university?"

"If she lived five hundred years ago when it was founded," Syd shrugged, "it's possible."

"Five hundred years ago…" Trey gasped, then leaned into Eli and Syd. "There's no way my mother is that old."

Syd blinked, "I'll be turning one hundred and six in a couple of months," she told him, eyeing the gemstone on her wrist, "isn't that right Eli?"

"Indeed it is," Eli confirmed, Trey's eyes shooting open as a result. "Fledgling Trey," Eli continued, noticing the young man's distress, "I believe it's time we explain something. Once a soul becomes a Network Rider, their time is halted."

"You mean…" Trey spoke slowly, "they'll live forever? Never aging?"

"Pretty much," Syd nodded, she then pointed to the university on the top of the hill, "in fact, that very spot used to be where mortal humans would train to become network riders."

"And it isn't anymore?" Trey asked, "Home come?"

"Three hundreds years ago," Eli spoke as Syd took another bite of her ice cream, "a network rider by the name of Artemis killed one of the Gate Keepers commanders, a spyre as they called them. After that, the Gate Keepers simply vanished from this world, and the training of new network riders simply wasn't needed."

"Until about eight years ago," Syd threw in, "when they suddenly returned."

"Eight years ago?" Trey questioned, "is that why my mother disappeared?"

"More than likely Fledgling Trey," Eli told him softly, "I'm sure your mother's decision to leave was not an easy one."

"Neither was killing that spyre," Trey let out a sigh, hoping to change the subject. "How did he do it? Did he have help?"

"According to the report, only his navigator aided him," Eli said, letting out a heavy breath, "but she sadly perished in the fight."

Upon hearing those words, Trey's heart sank to the bottom of his stomach, "Navigators," he muttered under his breath, "can die?"

Silence hung in the air, until fate swung in Syd and Eli's favor and Amy and Samantha walked by while heading towards the door.

"See, now don't you feel better?" Amy asked with a smile on her face as she pulled Samantha along by her hand.

Samantha shrugged, "I guess," she glanced towards Amy, "can we go back to our dorm now? I need to get back to my project."

"Geez," Amy laughed as they walked out the front door, "you sure are a work-a-holic aren't you my sweet heart?"

Syd glanced at the gem on her wrist, "Eli?"

"No doubt about it," Eli said, "one of those two young women is a fledgling."

"Couldn't pick up which one when they walked by us?" Syd questioned.

"Unfortunately not," Eli told her, "we'll need to figure that out ourselves."

Syd smirked, then looked to Trey, "Then it looks like we'll be heading up the mountain tomorrow. Won't we Trey?"

"I'm all for it," Trey told her, "but what if they don't allow visitors? We aren't exactly locals, Syd."

"Then we'll just pose as students," Syd told him with a shrug, "we won't run into any trouble so long as no one figures it out right?"

Trey laughed, "Okay, I like how you're thinking but it's a girls only university and…" he motioned to himself, "I'm a boy."

Syd's smirk widened, "Not for long."

Later that night, Samantha sat at a drafting table in her dimly lit dorm room, her unsteady hand resting over her still blank page under the small desk lamp that acted as her only source of light. Holding her head, she gritted her teeth in frustration as her foot began to tap rapidly.

"Sweety," Amy yawned as she came out of the bedroom in a white t-shirt and black shorts, "are you coming to bed soon? We have class in the morning you know."

"Yeah," she nodded, not taking her eyes off the page, "I just.. Just a bit longer okay?"

Amy let out a heavy sigh, "Okay," she said as she walked up to Samantha and kissed her on the top of her head, "don't stay up too late."

Samantha nodded, "I won't… love you."

Amy managed a small grin, "Love you too," she said as she headed back to her bedroom. As she climbed into bed, her phone began to ring, Amy opening her bedside table and pulling out her phone with the name 'Kaitlyn" on the caller ID. Amy blinked, then answered it. "Kait? What are you still doing up?"

"Yeah, I know it's late but I need a favor," a female voice came out, followed by a slight nervous laugh, "think you can meet me in the music hall before class tomorrow? I need a bit of help getting my pitch down."

"The music hall?" Amy questioned, then grinned, "sure, what time you wanna meet up?"

"How does seven thirty work?" Kaitlyn asked.

Despite not being in the same room, Amy gave a small thumbs up regardless, "Sounds perfect, I'll see ya then."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

The next morning at seven twenty-five, Syd stood at the front gates of the university at the top of the hill, now wearing a recently purchased uniform for the university they were about to enter which consisted of a sharp midnight blue blazer with the school's crest on the left breast pocket, matching knee length skirt and a cleanly pressed white button up shirt with a simple under the collar. She also wore a pair of knee high socks and polished black dress shoes to bring the whole outfit together.

In a wide stance and her fists on her hips, Syd took in a deep breath then let it out as students began coming onto the campus ground from around her, "Smells like the pursuit of knowledge, don't you think Trey?"

"Yeah… sure…" Trey's voice echoed out from a bush beside the gate, "can I just wait in the annex until this is over?"

Syd stared at the bush, then let out a heavy sigh before reaching into the bush. "We have two targets Fledgling Trey," Eli said as Trey managed to pull out Trey's arm, "if we split up, we'll have a better chance at finding them. Especially on the off chance they're in different places."

"Yeah I know but…" Trey groaned as he was pulled out from the bush, revealing that he was currently dressed in the same uniform as Syd, "do I have to wear this?"

"Unfortunately, yes," Syd told him before holding out a thick brown book with gold lettering on it, "student handbook says all students are required to wear uniforms during school hours."

Trey looked at the handbook and blinked, "And where by chance did you get that?"

"Lady at the bottom of the hill gave it to me," Syd told him.

Trey stared at her, "You stole it from her, didn't you?"

"Gave, stole, whichever word we use it doesn't excuse the fact we're gonna need something like this in our mission today," Syd told him, pointing to the book before turning to face the sea of uniformed young women that were flowing into the campus, "so we should just-"

Suddenly, Syd froze her eyes shooting open as one student in particular caught her eye. A dark skinned young woman with her naturally curly hair down up in pigtails and cut to be about shoulder length. This student however, despite Syd's obvious staring, didn't notice her or Trey and kept walking towards the school with her shoulder bag gripped tightly and its strap slung over her left side.

"No way…" Syd muttered under her breath, "it can't be…"

"Syd?" Trey called out to her, placing his hand on her shoulder. Suddenly, and without warning, Syd bolted passed the front gate and into the university campus. "HEY!" Trey called out to her, "WHERE ARE YOU GOING!"

"DON'T MIND ME!" Syd called back to him, "LOOK FOR THE FLEDGLING!"

Trey paused, his eyes blinking in confusion before he called out to her again, "WAIT! BUT HOW DO I KNOW WHICH ONE OF THEM IT IS!"

"LOOK FOR SIGNS OF EMOTIONAL DISTRESS!" Syd called out one final time, her voice sounding farther away with each passing second, "AND ERRATIC, UNUSUAL BEHAVIOR!"

"ISN'T THAT WHAT YOU'RE DOING RIGHT NOW!" Trey shouted, pausing for a moment only to get not a word of a response as Syd had by that point vanished into the ocean of students in front of him. With a frustrated huff, Trey dug his hands into the pockets of his blazer then kicked the dirt with his shoe, "Guess I'm on my own then… in a town I don't know, chasing a pair of girls I don't know, at a school I don't go to," he looked up at the school then groaned some more, "my attire to be honest, is the least of my worries." He then shuffled into the school gates, keeping his head down, "Let's just get this day over with."

Moments later, Syd found herself just on the cliff's edge at the back of the university which overlooked the town below. Panting heavily, Syd looked from her left to her right before reaching out to grab hold of a nearby bench to catch her breath.

"Damn it…" she muttered under her breath, "I lost her…"

"Syd," Eli called out to her, "who was it you were chasing after?"

"That girl," Syd said, recalling the image of the girl she had just been chasing after and the dark skinned girl from her memory, "I think she was-" Suddenly, something in Syd's mind snapped causing all of her functions to freeze up.

"Syd?" Eli called to her, Syd's body loosening up as she reached for her now throbbing head, "Syd! Are you alright?!"

"Yeah… I'm fine.." she winced from the pounding in her head, "sorry Eli… what we were talking about?"

"You don't remember?" Eli asked.

"No…" Syd said, lowering her hand as her head stopped throbbing, "I don't, sorry."

"We spotted one of the two fledgling suspects," Eli told her, "and you ran after her leaving Trey to locate the other one."

"Alright," Syd punched her fist into her open palm, donning an eager smirk before turning on her heel to the building behind her, "then let's not let this little set back get in the way of our lead."

"SYD!" Eli called out in a sudden voice of panic, "Watch out! To the right!"

Turning in the direction Eli had told her, Syd gasped as from the shadow of the building lunged Megora. Cocking her head to the side, the mimic swung her head causing her braid to hurl itself at Syd with the hook tied into the top of it whistling through the air. Syd raised her arm to block it, but the hook carved through her sleeve and forearm like butter.

"Hey there," Syd gritted her teeth, "you got a name, or should I just call you legs for days?" she snickered, grabbing the mimic's braid to hold Megora in place despite the constant pull back from the doll-like creature's neck, waist and very defined legs.

The mimic glared at Syd, "Megora…" she said in an almost whisper of a voice, her one hand pointing to a sword with the pattern of a heart on its hilt that was ran through her chest and out her back, "the Impaled."

"Charmed," Syd smirked, "shame I'm going to need to send you back to your maker in pieces!" She released her hold on the mimic's braid before raising her foot to kick the mimic in the gut and sending her hurling backwards, landing limp on the ground just inches away from the cliff. Syd held her arm, the smallest amount of green fluid running out of her wound in place of red blood, "Eli.. when did we pass into the Gate Keeper's domain?"

"We didn't," Eli told her, "look at the sky."

Syd looked up and gasped, to her horror nothing had changed. "You mean… this thing managed to slip into the human realm?"

Within the auditorium inside his domain, Maestro sat staring at Syd in the reflection of his blood red wine. "Hate to break it to you my darling little network rider," he smirked as he swirled his drink, "but my flowers don't need to hide in the same way my sister's horrid beasts do." As he swirled his wine, the scene reflected in them changed to show the Jester of the Court who was staring back at him, "not since adding her to my collection and, fiddling, with her make up."

Back with Syd, the network rider pulled out her buckle and slapped it onto her waste, "GAME START!" it cried out as she pulled from her belt, her green Striker die.

"Eli! My jacket!" she commanded, her blazer reverting back into her long coat as she pulled up her hood and spun the dial on her driver.

"STRIKER!" roared her buckle as she transformed into Jayd Striker Form, her improved curved swords appearing on her back, "Piercing sabers! Carve the path!"

As Jayd finished transformed, Megora leapt back onto her feet then whipped her braid back at her. Jayd, not missing a beat, quickly drew her blades and deflected the braid with one of her swords then closed the distance between her and Megora before swinging her blade at her. The sword was about to hit its mark, but before it could Megora contorted her back backwards causing Jayd's sword to clash with the one embedded in the mimic's chest instead.

Jayd gasped, drawing her sword back only for Megora to grab hold of the sword within her chest. "Come, network rider," Megora whispered, drawing the sword out from her chest as her back straight along with it, the mimic fully drawing the sword before connecting it to the stump on her missing arm to complete her limb, "come, dance with me."

"Sorry hunny," Jayd popped her green striker die from her buckle before replacing it with her violet stalker die, "but I dance alone."

She re-spun her buckle, her sword dissolving as her coat changed from green to purple, "STALKER!" cried her buckle as her twin daggers appeared in her hands, "Deadly daggers! Strike the night!"

Megora swung her own sword at Jayd, only for Jayd to leap backwards before vanishing into thin air. Megora paused, then stepped forward and swung her sword only to her nothing. Moments later, one of Jayd's unseen daggers slashed its way across Megora's back causing the mimic to wince and it's limbs retract from the pain.

From within Maestro's theatre, the spyre of loneliness sucked his teeth then shook his head as he watched the above scene from his cup. "Now now, that's hardly fair isn't it?" he held out his hand and one of the smiling shadows around him placed in his open hand a miniature plush version of Megora. "Let's level the difficulty."

Pinching the cheeks of his plush Megora with one hand to open its mouth, he held his wine glass high as the fluid within it turned a deep oily black color. His grin widening, the Maestro proceeded to pour the now viscous fluid into his plush Megora's mouth. Close the plush doll's mouth up again, he shook the doll up as his drink returned to red wine and he once again looked into it to watch the battle unfold.

"That should handicap her enough," Maestro laughed.

Back with Jayd, Megora halted all her movements as her belly began to loudly rumble. Her mouth hanging open, she vomited up the same black oil Maestro had fed the doll but at a much greater volume. With the oil spewing from her mouth, Megora spun on her heel to cover the ground around her before finally covering her invisible opponent in it after only turning seventy-five degrees to the right of her.

Jayd, now visible, gawked at the fluid which reeked of death, rain and rotting flesh. "Guh!" she gagged, "what the heck is this stuff?!" She nearly hurled, trying to shake the substance off of her body.

"SYD!" Eli called out, "WATCH IT!"

Jayd looked up just as Megora slashed her sword down upon her, giving Jayd just enough time to step back to dodge the swipe. But the moment she did, her foot slipped ever so slightly off the cliff's edge. Jayd gasped, quickly pulling her foot back onto the ledge as the now loose earth that was beneath her feet fell to the town a few miles below in her stead.

Just as Jayd got both her feet on the ground, Megora whipped her braid towards Jayd and ensnared it around the network rider's throat before using that leverage to pull Jayd to up and over the mimic with a single backwards thrust of her neck, waist and legs. Slamming on the ground behind Megora, Jayd's transformation shattered and she reverted to Syd, the oil breaking off of her along with her rider form.

"Now…" whispered Megora as she raised her sword to Syd, pressing her foot down on the network rider's chest, "you die."

Just as Megora pulled her sword back to stab Syd, a blur leapt down from above and punched Megora off of her.

"Back off her, she's mine!" snarled the blur which, as Syd's gaze was able to focus upon it, was revealed to be the Jester of the Court. "Go and find the fledgling!"

"But the Maestro said-'' winced Megora as she stumbled towards Syd, only to be struck down to the ground by another powerful slash from the Jester's claws.

"The Maestro said I would play with her in time!" the Jester snarled, "and I can't do that if you kill her, understand?" Megora nodded and, while holding the side of her head that the Jester had hit, returned to her feet. "Good, it's a pale girl with pin straight black hair," the Jester told Megora, "she hasn't woken up yet, now get on it!"

Megora looked to Syd one final time, then stepped back into the shadows and vanished from sight just as quickly as she had appeared.

Climbing to her feet, Syd stared at the Jester with a shaken unsteady gaze. "Why would you help me?" she muttered, "Who are you?"

The Jester turned to Syd and smirked, "Don't you have a fledgling to save?"

Inside the university, Trey crept along the now empty halls, sticking as close to the walls as he could and remaining low to the ground. Taking a moment to catch his breath, he inched down to the corner of one wall then poked his head down the connecting hallway.

"Okay.. no one done there either," he whispered quietly, "good, good."

"Who are we hiding from?" he heard a voice whisper just as quietly into his ear.

"AHH!" he screamed, jumping up and slamming into the wall behind him. Breathing rapidly, he looked down to see Amy kneeling below him and laughing her ass off.

"Holy shit girl!" she howled as she climbed up onto her feet, "are you on the run or some-" she paused, her eyes shooting open as she got a good look at Trey. She instantly covered her mouth, "Oh my god, I'm so sorry…"

Trey looked to her and blinked, "Sorry for what?" he asked her.

"Okay, okay, okay!" Amy held her hands up, then pointed her fingers at Trey, "before I go and make an arse of myself, preferred pronouns?"

This only made Trey more confused, "Um.." He let out a heavy sigh in defeat, "okay, you got me, I'm a boy." He presented his wrists to Amy, "Take me to your warden officer."

"Dude, if you're a trans guy that's all cool," Amy grinned, snickering a little bit, "we don't throw folks out just cause they figure themselves out while they're here." She looked at the skirt Trey was wearing, "But um…" she then pointed to it, "doesn't that sorta fuck with you alittle?"

Trey looked down at the skirt. In that moment, he weighed two options that each seemed just as horrible. Get thrown out when the potential fledgling was right in front of him, or pose as a trans guy.

Taking in the hardest swallow of his life, Trey looked back to Amy and screamed in the back of his mind, "OKAY! I GUESS WE'RE DOING THIS!"

"Well um.." he muttered, tugging on his skirt a bit, "Isn't this regulation?"

Amy froze, unsure of how to proceed until thankfully someone walked by. "Dude, turn around," she pointed down the hall, Trey looking over his shoulder to see a very handsome man with short combed back hair. He wore the same uniform that Trey was, but with pants of the same color instead of a skirt. Trey blushed, his heart skipping a beat when he saw this man, "W-Who is that?" he muttered.

"Raymond, a senior. Of course he went by Rachel until his last few years of high school.. AFTER he was already awarded a scholarship here," Amy told him, a grin on her face as she crossed her arms. "Now, wouldn't he look awful funny in a skirt just like you?"

"Yeah…" Trey nodded, "I guess he would."

"Come with me to the office," Amy nudged his shoulder, "we'll get you some pants mister...?"

"Trey," he told her, extending his hand to her, "and you?"

"Amy," she shook his hand before leading him down the hall, "say, you doing anything later?"

"This morning? No, i don't have class until the afternoon," he told her, only to then think that maybe she was asking him out, "also I'm gay."

Amy looked at him, then laughed. "No shit," she gave him a quick jab in the shoulder, "so am I."

In the woods between the university and the dorms, Samantha ran as fast as her feet would carry her with her bag clutched in one fist and her phone in the other.

"Dammit Amy!" she huffed as she began to run out of breath, crossing an old yet presteen wooden bridge that was built over a ravine that ran through her path, "Why the heck didn't you wake me up?!"

Checking time on her phone, she then locked it before turning her gaze forward to the path ahead of her only to gasp when she saw Syd charging towards her. With the full force of a linebacker, Syd lunged forward and knocked Samantha to the ground before pinning the girls arms to the wooden bridge beneath her with her own hands.

"STOP!" Syd pleaded, "If you go any further your life will be in danger!"

"Are you nuts!" Samantha shoved Syd off of her, clawing her way back to her feet before taking off again down the road, "If I don't get there five minutes ago my life will be over!"

"WAIT!" Syd reached out to her, only for her hand to retract when Samantha shot a glare towards her.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Samantha barked at her as she continued on down the road, "Whoever you are!"

"Syd.." Eli's voice called out quietly to his contractor, "you aren't actually going to do what she says, are you?"

"Of course not," she said as she rose to her feet. "If she's the fledgling, then it's our job to protect her whether she likes it or not."

Back at the school, the dark skinned girl that had caught Syd's attention stood against a grand piano in a vacant music room. She stared at a silver watch on her wrist, taping her foot as the second ticked away.

"Where is she?" she huffed as she looked to her watch which read five minutes to eight. She looked to the door, "I said seven thirty, didn't I?" On cue, the door swung open.

"KAITLYN!" Amy cried out as she came into the room, followed by Trey who now were pants instead of a skirt. "Sorry I'm late!" hunching over to catch her breath, she gestured to Trey, "I was helping a handsome gentleman who didn't know the schools trans policies."

"Oh, okay…" Kaitlyn grinned at Amy, only to stare at Trey with a raised brow, "but, what is he doing here now?"

"I uh, don't have class until the afternoon?" he told Kaitlyn.

"Ah, I see," Kaitlyn smirked, looking to Amy before approaching her, "and here I thought this was going to be a-" she brushed a bit of dust off of Amy's cheek, "one on one session with my favorite pianist."

Amy laughed a bit, "Well, now you have two sets of ears to help you hit the notes," she said as she stepped away from Kaitlyn and sat at the grand piano, opening it up before looking back to Kaitlyn. "The more the merrier, am I right?"

"Amy, darling," Kaitlyn cooed to her, "so long as you're behind the keys, the whole school could be in this room for all I care."

Amy raised a brow at this statement, rolling her eyes with a grin before just laughing it off, "If you say so." She turned to the piano and began playing.

After the first few notes, Kaitlyn opened her mouth and began to sing possibly the most beautiful voice he had ever heard. "Promise that we'll stay for the sunset, and when the moon shines through the darkness…" as Kaitlyn sang, Trey felt an odd sense of comfort, as if his own mother was somehow singing to him, "we can find the path that leads us home, and on the way you'll…" with a smirk, Kaitlyn cupped Amy's head and guided the other girl's gaze towards her, "maybe…" Amy grinned back at Kaitlyn but shook her head, "sing me a song."

"Promise that you always will be there," Kaitlyn closed her eyes and stepped away from Amy and unwittingly approached Trey, the boy being unable to help that the image of his mother placed itself overtop of Kaitlyn in his mind, "Hold my hand if ever I'm real scared. Help me stand up tall if I fall down, make me laugh away all my bluest days!" Kaitlyn's pich rose as did her tempo as she continued to the next verse, "How could you promise you always would be there? Why'd you have to go away somewhere?" As Kaitlyn sang that verse, the image of Trey's mother that was over her in his mind faded, a tear running down the boy's eye as she continued, "Every morning into every night Do you watch over me like the sun in the sky? Am I all alone, or standing in your light? I wish that I could...maybe...sing you a song…" Kaitlyn took breath, as Amy slowly but surely finished playing before Kaitlyn finally breathed, "tonight."

The room hung in silence for a moment before Trey finally broke with a sudden applause.

Kaitlyn opened her eyes, looking in surprise to the boy in front of her, "Y-You think it was that good?" she managed a slight nervous laugh, "I still thought I needed work."

Amy turned around and looked at Trey. "Dude," she laughed, "are you crying?"

"Kaitlyn, was it?" Trey finally spoke, wiping her eyes, "where did you learn that song?"

"I… I don't know," Kaitlyn grinned, then shrugged, "I've just sort of, always known it. Why?"

"My mother used to sing me that song when I was little," he told her, grinning after a final sniffle, "but she disappeared a few years ago so I haven't heard it song so beautifully in a very long time."

"Oh…" Kaitlyn muttered, her grin fading, "I'm sorry."

"No, no," Trey held up his open hand, "don't be sorry, it was nice having that memory back."

"If you say so," Kaitlyn bowed her head, regaining her grin as she looked to Amy, "speaking of disappearing… where's that girlfriend of yours Amy?"

At the front of the school, Samantha bolted through the front doors and bolted down the halls. "Okay," she allowed herself to breath, "I gotta find Amy, give her a piece of my mind before heading to class which I'm currently-" she checked her phone, "thirty-five minutes late for!"

Charging down the halls, she passed by Raymond who watched at her, "Morning Samantha!" he called out to her.

"HEY RAY!" she said as she ran by him, "SORRY! NO TIME TO TALK!" Ray was about to call out to her until he saw Samanth running backwards towards him again, "Hello again… have you seen Amy? I need to find her like, now!"

"I saw her heading towards the music room," he told her, "she's probably still there."

"Thank you!" Samantha waved to him before running off down the hall again.

Back in the music room, Amy looked to Kaitlyn with her usual grin, "Probably arriving at school now," she said as she closed the piano. "She was working late again last night, so I let her sleep in a bit. You know how important her art is to her."

"That I do," Kaitlyn's gaze narrowed upon Amy, "this would have anything to do with the creative block she's been having, would it?"

"Can't get anything past you, can I Kait?" Amy let out a somewhat sad sigh as she stood up from the piano stool. "Sure, I can tell her just to take a break until it blows over… but as her partner, it's my job to stand by her no matter what."

"Oh?" Kaitlyn raised a brow, her grin fading into a look of heartache, "Even if you end up suffering because of it?"

Amy blinked, trying to process what Kaitlyn just said, "What does that even-"

"Amy," Kaitlyn cut her off, taking a few steps towards the other girl, "sure, I haven't been here very long… but I know how she treats you is bullshit." She stopped just in front of Amy, taking hold of her hands and looking into her eyes with a sad and empathetic expression, "You know that too.. Right?"

Trey read the air of the room, then eyed the door, "I'll just.. See myself out," he whispered quietly as he stepped out of the room, silently closing the door behind him.

"That's not-" Amy shook her head, "You don't know her the way I do! She isn't normally-"

"Shh…" Kaitlyn calmly shushed her, placing a single finger against Amy's lips. "Stop making excuses for her, it only allows this to continue."

Amy stared blankly at Kaitlyn, "Kait…" she muttered, "what are you doing?"

"Amy, I like you…" Kaitlyn confessed as she delicately held both of Amy's hands, "and I have for a while." She shook her head, "I refuse to let Sam go on treating the ways she has, and I refuse to hold myself back any longer."

Amy's eyes shot open, "Kaitlyn!" she pulled back, "Wait just a-"

"Please Amy," Kaitlyn pulled Amy closer, "just let this happen, don't fight it."

Kaitlyn brought her lips to Amys, and just as their lips met the door to the room swung open and Samantha walked in. Kaitlyn pulled away from Amy, then shot a glare at Samantha.

"Oh look," she sucked her teeth, pulling Amy into a hug over both her shoulders, "you're as timely as always."

Samantha and Amy stared at each other, their entire bodies shaking as their emotions began to overwhelm them.

"Sammy…" Amy whispered, choking on her words.

"Amy…" Samantha swallowed, "what's going on?"

**To be continued**

{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}


	6. 6th Revolution: The Impaled Part 2

**6th Revolution: Inspiration! That Will Be Enough?**

Amy and Samantha stood opposite one another in the music room, Kaitlyn still glaring at Samantha as she held her arm over Amy's shoulder.

"Amy…" Samantha swallowed, "what's going on?"

"Samantha, it isn't what it looks like!" Samantha pleaded, shoving Kaitlyn off of her. "She forced herself on me!"

"Did she also force you to forget to wake me up this morning?!" Samantha suddenly yelled at her, balling her hands into a pair of tight fists. "I had classes today in case you had forgotten!"

"And there it is Samantha!" Kaitlyn cut in, stepping forward, "It's always about you.. Did you ever consider Amy for a second?"

"I.. of course I did," Samantha muttered, her lip beginning to quiver as she looked to Amy, "didn't I?... Amy?"

"Well…" Amy hung her head, shrinking a little, "you had become focused exclusively on your work for the past little while… despite not really getting anything done."

Samantha's jaw hit the floor upon hearing those words. "Oh?! Is that what you really think?!" she snapped. "Great to know you're so considerate when I have a creative block!"

"Sammy please!" Amy reached her hand forward, only for Samantha to smack it away.

"No Amy! Just don't even bother!" she huffed, marching towards the door to the room, "you wanted to be alone with Kaitlyn so bad? Fine! Don't let me stand in your way!"

Samantha stepped out of the room, then slammed the door behind her. Amy let out a sigh of defeat, collapsing on the piano stool behind her before burying her face in her hands.

"Kaitlyn…" she huffed, "why would you go and do that?"

She waited for a response, but heard nothing. Save the haunting melody of a quiet music box that began to fill the room until it sounded like it was on top of her. Amy gasped, looking up to find that she was no longer in the music room but instead on a brightly lit circular stage with female dolls hung by their necks above her.

"What the hell?" she shuddered in fear, her gaze darting from corner to corner of her new environment, "Where am I?" She questioned until she looked directly ahead of her to see Megora facing her. "W-What are you?!"

"Dance…" Megora whispered, taking a step forward while extending her single hand to Amy, "with me?"

{Insert Opening theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

Samantha sat curled up in a ball on the school's front steps, sobbing into her own lap as Trey came up to her.

"Hey.. it's Samantha right?" he asked quietly, placing his hand on her shoulder, "are you.. Gonna be alright?"

She looked up to him, her eyes red from crying, "Do I look alright to you?" she said, wiping her eyes, "God.. I'm such an idiot," she held her head, then sobbed some more, "Why would I even think of saying any of that too here?" She slapped herself in the forehead, "I'm just stupid, so stupid."

Quietly, Trey came up to her and sat down beside her. "No.. you're not stupid," he said placing his arm around her, then patting her shoulder with his free hand. "Look, I uh.. I heard the whole thing behind the door. You wanna tell me where this all started?"

"About a month ago… when that stupid Kaitlyn girl transferred in," Samantha sniffled. "Then I got an assignment, to draw what I believed was beauty in its purest form."

"You picked Amy," Trey said, "didn't you?"

Samantha nodded, "I wanted to capture her perfectly… so much so that it took away my ability to draw anything at all."

"So you began obsessing over it," Trey asked, "didn't you?"

"Yeah…" Samantha said under her breath, resting her chin on the palm of her hand as she stared out past the gates, "I guess I did…"

"You know, nothing needs to be perfect," Trey told her with another firm pat on her shoulder, "sometimes, simply getting the idea down is enough."

Samantha blinked, her eyes widening some as the calming song of many birds echoed in the distance. "Simply getting the idea down…" she repeated under her breath, "is enough?"

Just as a bit of comfort began to hang in the air, it was interrupted by a small bomb hurling its way out from the treeline around the campus and landing by Tree and Samantha's feet. Samantha and Trey gasped as they stared at the smiling face that was printed on the bomb.

"GET DOWN!" Trey yelled, covering Samantha's face with his blazer before rolling onto the ground with her.

The bomb went off, exploding into a huge cloud of purple smoke as laughter filled the air.

"Simply getting the idea down is enough?" cackled the Jester of the Court as she emerged from the smoke, approaching Trey and Samantha as the smoke cleared. She stared down the pair on the ground, her smirk widening as she pulled a pair of bombs from her belt, these ones baring an angry face, "Then was my display enough to get the idea of you dying across?"

Before the bombs could even be thrown, they were suddenly sliced in half from within the Jester's claws. The Jester snarled, thrusting her elbow backward which resulted in a loud, "OUF!" from Jayd as she became visible behind the Jester in her Stalker form.

"You again?" The Jester sneered, spinning around to deliver a hard roundhouse kick to Jayd's face, "Just give it up!" she shouted, throwing another roundhouse kick at Jayd, "It's over-"

Before the second kick could land, Jayd caught the Jester's foot with one hand then slashed the back of the Jester's thigh in an upward motion causing the gate keeper to writhe in agony. "As long as I'm breathing," Jayd grabbed the Jester by her ankle with both her hands then tossed the mimic over her shoulder, "it's not over."

The Jester snarled, holding her leg as the wound began to close while shooting a narrow rage filled gaze upon Jayd.

"Fledgling Trey!" Eli called out from Jayd's gem, "is the fledgling beside you alright?"

Trey gave Samantha a look, Samantha looking back to him and nodding. "Yeah!" He called out to Eli.

"Good," Eli spoke as Jayd assumed a battle ready stance before Jester, "then get her to safety, we'll handle this one."

"Right!" Trey nodded, climbing to his feet before extending a hand to help up Samantha. Once the both of them were on their feet, they ran into the school as Jayd adjusted her placement to be directly between the building behind her and the Jester in front of her.

The Jester's snarl stopped once Samantha and Trey had left, it became replaced with a fit of laughter as she clawed her way to her feet and stared down Jayd. "You really are a bigger fool than I ever imagined," she smirked, "did I ever tell you that?"

"Don't listen to her Syd," Eli compelled his contractor, "she's just trying to psych you out."

"Listen to me or not," the Jester shook her head, "it won't change the fact that in a matter of moments, a new gate keeper will be born upon these grounds."

"The girl is safe," Jayd declared, aiming her daggers at the Jester, "and I will not allow you or that friend of yours through!"

"Ah but you see, you've got the wrong girl Network Rider" the Jester smirked, "my 'friend-" she said making air quotes with her fingers "-has the real fledgling already."

Jayd rushed up to the Jester, raising both her daggers to the gate keeper's throat, "You liar!" Jayd sucked her teeth at the Jester, "you said the fledgling was a pale girl with black hair, that matches our suspects appearance to the letter."

The Jester stared at her unphased by the blades at her throat, then giggled in her usual fashion. "And you believed what I, an enemy, said without question?"

A small gasp escaped Jayd's lips under her mask. The network rider then gritted her teeth together as the hands she held her blades with began to tremble.

"Syd! Don't listen to her!" Eli called out to his contractor. "She's only trying to throw you off!"

"I know that!" Jayd snarled, lowering her daggers from the Jester's throat, "But… even so…"

The Jester smirked, leaping away from Jayd in a backwards flip before landing on her feet with one behind the other and her gaze falling once again on Jayd "Tick tock, for as you stay," she sang with her usual giggle, "the fledgling's life fades away."

Inside the university's main building, Samantha and Trey came to halt from running. Samantha rested hunched over, her arm clinging to the wall as Trey stood up right and looked from side to side.

"Don't get too comfy," Trey told her as he kept on the lookout, "we aren't out of the woods just yet."

"I was just catching my breath for a second!" Samantha told him with a glare, the situation was beginning to wear on her. "And just what the hell is that thing out there anyway!"

"Its a gate keeper Samantha," Trey told her, giving her a stern look, "and its after you."

Samantha's eyes shot open, her whole body beginning to tremble, "That.. thing is after me?" She gestured to herself, "Why?!"

"It isn't," Jayd's stern voice echoed from behind Samantha, her and Trey looking over to her as she approached.

Trey breathed a sigh of relief, "You took care of the gate keeper?!"

Jayd shook her head, then looked Samantha in the eye, "You there, Samantha was it?"

Sam nodded.

"Where's that friend of yours?" Jayd demanded.

Samantha froze, then with an audible huff she crossed her arms and looked away from Jayd. "How would I know where she was? More importantly, why should I care?"

"BECAUSE THERE ARE TWO OF THOSE THINGS HERE!" Jayd barked at Samantha, grabbing her by the collar and pulling her towards herself. "We had it wrong, your friend is the one they're after! Do you want her to die?!"

Samantha gasped, trembling once again as Jayd's words entered her ear, "Amy.." she muttered under her breath, "will die..?"

Trey's heart began to sink, the boy turning to Samantha unsure of what to say. It was then that under his shirt, he felt a sudden warmth emanating from around his neck.

Trey gasped, reaching under his shirt and pulling out his mother's necklace which was now glowing in a golden light. "What the.." he muttered, the necklace glowing brighter as he held it closer to Samantha, the letters engraved upon its rim becoming illuminated in red. "When two hearts become one," Trey recited the necklace's engraving, "evil will be undone."

Back on the stage surrounded by hanging dolls, Amy stepped away from Megora with her arms coiled up to her chest. "D-dance with you?" she muttered in fear, "Are you insane! I've read enough fairy tales to know exactly what will happen if I do!"

"Do… you?" Megora whispered, tilting her head to the side, "Then what will happen.. If you dance with me?"

"You'll eat my soul, or something!" she shook her head, "I don't know! Just- Please, just let me go…" her knees began to tremble, "Whatever you are… I probably wouldn't taste very good anyway. I'm nothing special."

"Nothing special?" Maestro's voice echoed through the stage, "and what, my lost flower, makes you believe such a thing?"

"I can't draw like Samantha… I can't sing like Kaitlyn…" Amy's knees collapsed, the defenseless girl falling to the floor as tears ran down her face, "I can't even dance-" she gasped for air between sobs as she looked up to the mimic before her, "like that thing that's trying to kill me."

"Kill you?" Maestro questioned as Megora stepped forward, extending a hand to Amy, "No… we, my Flower, intend to free you."

"Free me?" Amy questioned, her eyes beginning to go blank, "You'd really… do that for me?"

"Of course my flower," Maestro's voice called out once more, this time from deep within her head. "It is my purpose in my existence, to ease the pain of girls and women cast aside by society and forced to rot in agony and loneliness."

Amy stared at Megora's hand, her gaze shifting up to the mask that acted as the mimic's face, "Is that what… happened to her?"

"Something to that degree, but even Megora would agree," the Maestro spoke as a pair of spotlights lit up the darkness to reveal a pair of dolls. One resembled Megora as she was, but with two complete arms and without the mask on her face or sword through her chest. Overall, it appeared far more human that she was now. The other doll was clearly male, suited and faceless, "what happened to her was both a tragedy and a comedy."

"Yes…" Megora whispered, a ted tear running out from under her mask and down her neck, "it was my spyre."

"With the crace of a dove, and a man she could love," Maestro said, as the human-like doll that resembled Megora began to dance. "The dancer gave him her all, as her heart was enthralled. But as she would soon discover," a third spotlight shawn down between the man and the woman, revealing a faceless doll in a red dress, "her flame already had another." As the human Megora continued to dance, she started to cry as the man cuddled up against the woman in red, their faces coming together soon after. "In talent she won, but in love she had failed," the spotlights around the suited man and the woman red went out and only the doll that resembled Megora remained, her dancing coming to a halt as a knife appeared in her hand, "and so it was done," the light around the doll that resembled Megora went out and the sound of a blade ripping through flesh erupted from the darkness, "she became Megora the Impaled."

Amy stared at Megora, tears running down her face as she stared at the mimic, "I'm sorry you had to go through that… it must have been awful for you…"

"Worry not… I feel nothing but peace now… at the Maestro's side..." Megora held her hand out to Amy, "do you wish to feel it?... The peace that I do?"

Amy took in a big gulp, then placed her hand into Megora's. The moment she did, Megora tightened her grasp around Amy's hand, thousands of red threads beginning to crawl up from the joints in the mimics hand and coiling around Amy's.

"Sammy…" Amy muttered weakly under her breath, a tear falling down her cheek as the threads began coiling up her arm, "I'm sorry…"

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Outside in the hall, Amy ran up to the doors to the music room with Trey and Jayd close behind her. Reaching her destination, she took a moment to catch her breath before grabbing hold of the handles to the door.

"You're sure she'd still be in here?" Trey asked as he and Eli reached the door shortly after Samantha.

Samantha took in a deep breath as she gripped the door, then exhaled, "If she isn't… I don't know where else to look."

"Well we won't know until you open the door," Jayd looked to Samantha, placing a firm hand on her shoulder, "will we?"

Samantha looked to Jayd, then nodded. Turning back to the door, she shoved it open with everything she had. Upon opening it however, her eyes shot open as she let out a small gasp while the eyes of Trey and Jayd simply sharpened in determination as the trio was greeted to a pitch black void on the other side of the door.

Samantha, without thinking, reached her hand out into the void only for Jayd to suddenly grab her hand and force it back.

"You'll lose it like that," Jayd told Samantha, the girl stepping back as Jayd drew her daggers and took a swing at the void only to cut nothing. Jayd paused, swinging her daggers again only to again cut nothing.

"Syd, stop," Eli said with a heavy sigh. "It is clear that this is a rift to the gate keeper domain, but one of a far different make than any I've seen before."

"Well duh," Syd huffed, crossing her arms, "I can't cut the damn thing."

"Probably cause it isn't meant to deflect outsiders?" Trey questioned.

Jayd looked to him, raising a brow. "How do you mean, Fledgling Trey?" Eli asked.

Trey reached into his hair and pulled out a silver hair clip, raising it to the void in front of him. "Well… this is just a hunch but," he released the clip and it fell directly into the void. However it didn't fall down as Trey expected, no instead it fell forward in a straight line from where Trey had released it as if it has been thrown. Within moments, the clip completely disappeared.

"As I thought," Trey grinned, "its meant to disorient, not repel. Sort of a 'up is down' 'right is left' type deal."

"Trey! You're a genius!" Jayd cheered, grabbing at his cheek with her free hand while still staring into the void, "I owe ya big time!"

"Isn't it a bit early to be celebrating?" Samantha pointed out as she stared into the black void, "we still don't have any idea where Amy is in all of…" she motioned her hand around the black void beyond the door, "that!"

Jayd and Trey both looked to Samantha, falling silent enough to hear a pin drop as they contemplated what to say. It was then that Trey's necklace began to glow again, the boy fishing it out and giving it a look.

"Ah!" Jayd blocked her eyes, "Trey! Mind putting that away!"

"Wait just a moment Syd… he might be onto something," Eli spoke up, "thats your mother's, correct Fledgling Trey?"

Trey nodded, "it seems to glow brighter the closer it gets to Samantha."

"Then give it to her," Eli told him. Trey then nodded, taking the necklace off his neck and placing it around Samantha's.

Reaching out to hold the charm on the necklace, Samantha stared at it for a moment then gasped when the light suddenly went out. After a single moment, the necklace then rumbled and fired out a beam of light into the void which revealed a stone slab just beyond the reaches of the doorway.

"Whoa," Jayd and Trey both said in unison, "so I guess that's-"

Neither of them could finish their thought as Samantha ran forward and leapt towards the slab. In mid air, she rotated ninety degrees forward so her feet landed on the vertical slab as if it was a normal floor.

Once she had her feet firmly planted on the slab, Samantha looked to the necklace again to see it was pointing behind her.

"Come on!" She called out to both Jayd and Trey, "Its this way!"

Jayd smirked under her mask, "Oh, I like this one." She said before grabbing Trey by the wrist and leaping into the void after Samantha.

Back within the spectral stage, Amy now hung above by the threads which covered up to her shoulders. With her arms bound behind her back, Amy fell as limp as a deboned fish as Megora glared up at her from below.

"Something the matter my flower?" The Maestro's voice echoed in the back of her mind.

As Megora glared upon Amy, the image of the woman in red appeared over her for a moment in the Mimic's gaze. "Nothing worth noting," she bowed, placing her single hand over her heart, "I assure you my spyre."

"I should hope not," The Maestro smirked as his ghostly hand appeared around the stump that once was Megora's right arm. "I worried for a moment, I would need to remind you of the last time you let your past life… interfere with my wishes."

Megora winced for a moment as the Maestro's hand faded off her person. "Don't worry, my spyre," the mimic sharpened her gaze upon Amy, "my past is where it belongs. Behind me."

As Megora stared down Amy, a golden light erupted from the center of Amy's chest and aimed itself skyward past the opening in the canopy of hanging dolls. With a gasp, Megora quickly looked up on to be greeted by Jayd who dropped down upon her and carved her daggers into the mimic's shoulder and single arm.

"AHHH!" writhed Megora in pain, the mimic's sad gaze locking upon Jayd as she held her shoulder with her now injured arm. "You…" she hissed, "shall not interfere with my mission…" she drew the sword from her chest and attached it into her stump arm, "ANYMORE!"

Jayd sucked her teeth, "Sorry, but I'm afraid that's my job."

She popped her violet stalker die from her buckle, "Re:roll!" The buckle cried as she replaced her violet die with her green one, giving the dial a hard spin. "STRIKER!" her buckle cried out as her coat changed from violet to green, her daggers becoming her curved swords, "Piercing sabers! Carve the path!"

Megora charged at Jayd, slashing at the network rider only for her sword to be blocked with only one of Jayd's twin swords. Jayd smirked under her mask, then slashed upward at Megora's single arm, removing it cleanly in one hard stroke.

Megora roared out in pain, "What even are you?!" the mimic demanded, holding her arm as she fell backwards a few steps.

Jayd raised her swords in an x formation at Megora, "I'm just a wondering network rider," she said as Samantha and Trey landed on the stage behind her, "that's all you need to know."

Samantha instantly noticed Amy, the pale girl shuddering in terror as the threads coiled themselves further and further around her girlfriend's limp almost lifeless body.

"Is she…" Samantha muttered under her breath, her voice cracking as she reached out her arms to the tethered girl in front of her, "dead?"

"If she was, her body would not still be intact," Eli informed her, "so despite her appearance she is not yet lost."

"Then what do I do!" Samantha pleaded to Jayd with tears in her eyes, "Tell me!"

Jayd stared at Samantha for a moment, then smirked at her under her mask. "You care about her don't you?" She asked, raising her one sword to have it rest on her shoulder, "Save her."

As Jayd said those words, Megora recovered from the hit and the Jester of the Court emerged from the shadows behind her.

"Um… Syd?" Trey pointed a finger to the two mimics, "What about them?"

Jayd narrowed her gaze upon the mimics, "Don't you worry," she assured him in a stern tone of voice as she gripped both of her blades, "they won't get past us."

Megora cried out in anguish, cracking her neck to one side before whipping her whole body forward and sending her hooked braid hurling towards Jayd. With her newly found sense of determination, Jayd was able to quickly sheath both her swords then catch the hook with one hand and grip the braid it was connected to with the other.

"Get over her!" Jayd demanded, using the braid she held to pull Megora towards her and punch her square in the jaw.

The Jester watched, reaching for a pair of angry bombs on her belt as Jayd released her hold on Megora and her supposed ally fell like a rag doll to the floor. Sucking her teeth at Jayd, the Jester pulled the bombs off her belt and hurled them at the network rider. Jayd, with a quick gasp, whipped her head around with just enough time to see the bombs heading towards her.

In the seconds before they hit their mark, Jayd redrew her swords and knocked them away, one flying only a few feet away from her while the other struck Megora directly in the chest from where say lay limp on the stage floor. Once the bombs hit their mark, they erupted into a fiery gold explosive blast which shot out to just where the Jester stood without touching Trey, Samantha and the tethered Amy.

The trio on the sidelines simply stared at the flames as Megora's head now severed head flew out from the flames and landed at Trey and Samantha's feet.

"Ah!" Sam's footing retracted at the sight of it.

Trey meanwhile looked out to the flames. "Come guys," he said to himself, gritting his teeth as his foot began to tap rapidly, "make it outta there okay."

"RE:ROLL!" the sound of Jayd's buckle announced from the cloud as it began to clear up. "HUNTER! Burning arrow! Fly free!"

A barrage of arrows fired out from the smoke cloud at the Jester, and with them came Jayd who smacked the Jester across her face with the flat side of her crossbow.

Jayd went to strike her again with the same move, but the Jester caught it with her bare hand this time. "You survived that?" The Jester chuckled, shoving Jayd back with a hard push of her one arm, "I don't if I should be annoyed or impressed."

"Blame it on my coat in this form honey," Jayd chuckled, aiming her bow at the Jester, "and the feeling is mutual!" Jayd pulled back on the trigger, firing off another barrage of arrows at the Jester.

Trey, watching Jayd's battle with the Jester from the side lines, looked to Samanatha from over his shoulder. "Okay, Syd has her pinned for now," he told Sam, "so whatever you gotta do, do it now!"

Samantha nodded, turning to face Amy as her lower lip began to quiver. Holding her aching chest, she sharply swallowed before taking a step towards her tethered girlfriend.

"Amy…" she muttered as she reached out her hands and cupped the other girl's cheek, "I don't know exactly what's happening with you… but I…" choking on her words, Samantha threw her arms around Amy. "I'm sorry," she sobbed, "you're in this mess, cause of me."

Suddenly, Amy's eyes shot open. Trey gasped, the boy from where he stood being able to see they were glowing a bright demonic red, and four doll like arms tore themselves out from Amy's sides

"SAM!" Trey yelled, reaching his out to Samantha as Amy's new arms formed into razor sharp edges and drove themselves into Samantha's back.

"AGHH!" Samantha cried out in pain, still holding on to Amy for dear life.

"Hang on!" Trey looked to Jayd, then back to Amy and Samantha with quickly shifting and unsteady feet. He took one step forward, "I'll-"

"NO! STAY BACK!" Samantha barked at Trey, her grasp around Amy only getting tighter. "Amy…" she whimpered, "I know why you're doing this, it's because I made it seem like you don't matter, that you aren't important… isn't it?" As Samantha spoke, Amy stopped moving. "Well, that isn't true…" Samantha continued, the red in Amy's eyes faded, "you do matter, more than anything." Samanatha slowly loosened her hold on Amy, stepping back ever so slightly before cupping both of her girlfriend's cheeks. "I love you… Amy."

Samantha weakly moved herself forward, and placed a gentle kiss upon Amy's lips. As she did so, a massive surge of golden energy washed over them and returned the girls back to how the were before the stage had appeared. The threads cut, Samantha's wounds healed and Amy's corruption purified.

Jayd and the Jester continued to clash, the two warriors looking to the light as it washed over them. Jayd was unaffected, however as the Jester starred into it a small tear came into her eye as a familiar sense of warmth filled her very being. "What…" she muttered under her breath, "is this?"

This sensation was not one she would experience for long however, as the Maestro's hand rose out from her shadow and pulled her down into it.

Soon after the Jester was pulled away, the spectral stage became unable to withstand the force of the golden radiance. It quickly crumbled and the music room took its place. With the room returning to normal, Jayd reverted to Syd and she came up to Trey.

"Good job kid," she whispered quietly as the pair looked to Samantha, who sat holding a sleeping Amy in her arms, "I'm proud of you."

Not soon after the room was restored, Amy's eyes slowly began to open and she looked up to Samantha whose eyes were still filled with tears.

"Sammy?" Amy muttered weakly, reaching her hand up to wipe Samantha's eyes. "Why are you crying?"

Samantha threw her arms around Amy, hugging her tight. "I'm sorry Amy!" She sobbed some more, "I'll make time for you, I promise."

Amy blinked at Samantha, then donned a small grin before quietly wrapping her arms around her girlfriend. She remained there, until she caught something in the corner of her eye.

"Hey.." she turned her head to see the severed head of Megora on the floor with the sad expression on the mimic's mask staring back at her. "Megora… right?"

"Who…" the mimic's head whispering softly, "me?"

Amy nodded, "I meant what I said in there," she smiled at the mimic, reaching out her hand to gently pat her on the head, "I wish I could dance like you."

Megora gasped, the frown on her mask flipping to a smile as her head began to turn to ash, "Thank… you…"

Within Maestro's theatre, the spyre of loneliness sat staring into his goblet of wine. The rabbit twins Clover and Poppy stood behind him holding lit candles in their hands while standing in line with many other mimics who also held burning candles.

"You will be missed Megora," Maestro said as he downed the rest of his drink, "but you did well in service of your siblings." He glanced over towards the Jester who sat beside him, pouting with her arms crossed. "As did you, my flower," he grinned, gently caressing one of the dog like ears on the Jester's mask.

The Jester let out a huff, shooting up from her seat and leaving the auditorium out the front doors. Once on the other side of them, she loudly slammed the doors she had left from.

Clover and Poppy winced as a result of the violent slamming. "Sire…" the two dolls said in unison as they looked to the doors, "shall we go after her? Ensure she is alright?"

"No, leave her be," the Maestro grinned, not looking towards the door as he relaxed into his seat, "I'll collect her later."

Later that evening as the setting sun danced across the surfaces in their shared dorm room, Samantha lay on the couch atop of a sleeping Amy. The girl beneath her had a smile on her face, as did Samantha. It was then, as Samantha starred at Amy, that a light went off in her head.

Quietly and carefully, Samantha climbed off of Amy, being as sure as she could to not disturb her. Samantha tiptoed over to her drafting table on the other side of the room, grabbed a pencil then opened her sketchbook to a fresh page and sat down. Taking in a deep breath, she looked to Amy in the corner of her eye, then started to draw.

At around the same time, Syd walked out from the front gates with Trey close behind her.

"Ah man," she sighed, staring at a vile with a tiny amount of jaydite inside it which she held with her thumb and index finger parallel to her eye line, "all that effort for only a few drops? What a rip."

"Syd," Trey called out to her, patting the network rider on the shoulder with a small grin on his face, "in this case, wasn't the needs of others a bit more important?"

Syd looked to Trey, then managed a grin of her own, "Yeah, I guess your right." She slipped the vial onto her belt, turning it as it clicked securely into place with the rest. "I'm just a bit salty I wasn't able to end things with that Jester."

"You and me both," Trey said quietly, looking from side to side before leaning over to Syd and whispering. "She's the one who attacked me while you were dealing with my own gate keeper. And, I believe I saw her again during Will's tryouts."

Syd blinked, then raised a brow, "So, she's following us?"

Trey nodded, "Looks like it, but I don't know how, or even why."

"Well then, that leaves us with only one option," Eli spoke, "we'll just have to remain at the ready for her inevitable return, won't we?"

Syd and Trey both nodded, Syd covering her mouth as she let out a yawn. "Can we worry about that later though? I gotta recharge my batteries."

Trey laughed a bit, "Yeah, I'm beat too."

As the trio walked off from the university campus, Kaitlyn watched them vanish over the horizon from the roof of the main building.

Crossing her arms, she let out a heavy sigh before looking out to the setting sun. "You promise we'd stay for the sunset…" she sang in a melancholic tone under her breath. In a sudden shift of her mood, a smirk appeared on Kaitlyn's face as a gust of red thread like energy swirled around her as she transformed into the Jester of the Court. "Enjoy this victory network rider, for the day will come when I take back what's mine."

**To be continued**

{Insert ending theme: "Again" by Beverly}


	7. 7th Revolution: The Rake Part 1

**7th Revolution: Criminal! the Fading Heartbeat?**

In a quiet room on the third floor of a japanese hospital, a tall full figured woman with long black hair tied up in an over the shoulder sat before a bed in a black woman's kimono. With a sulun expression on her face, she stared at the person in the bed, a sickly woman who looked almost exactly like her only paler and much thinner. The woman in the bed was dressed in a white hospital gown, her arm hook up to an iv and a few machines that surrounded her.

"So…" the full figured woman muttered with a choke to her voice, "its terminal then?"

The bed ridden woman, despite her lack of strength, managed a single nod. "Fumiko…" she muttered over the steady beep of her heart monitor, "where's my son?... Naota's coming to visit soon… right?"

"Yes… Chikane, I'm sure he will" the full figured woman muttered, reaching for the bed ridden woman's hand as a tear came to her eye, "wherever he is."

With a sudden crack of both thunder and lightning, rain poured down over the city. As the rain washed away layers of dirt and grime, a cut up man hurled a punch towards a young boy in a simple hoodie, torn up jeans and worn out sneakers from the confines of a dead end alleyway.

"I WANT MY MONEY NAOTA!" the older man barked at him as he hurled him into the nearby brick wall. "Now where is it?"

Clawing at the mud and wet garbage that littered the ground, the small boy panted violently with a fatigued breath.

"I told you… you crouchy old fuck," Naota muttered, several suited goons coming up from behind his pursuer. Some carried small blades, others, guns, "You're all gonna get it.. as soon as my mother is better."

The center boss stared at Naota, raising a brow at him. "Chikane?" The boss snickered, then grabbed the boy by his hair, "didn't you hear the news kid?" He pulled Naota to his feet, "Your poor old mom has less time than you do."

Upon hearing the boss' words, Naota's heart sank and he began to tremble. As this happened, the image of pale grey humanoid dog with torn flesh and exposed bones appeared for a moment in a puddle by Naota's feet.

"You're wrong…" Naota muttered, gritting his teeth together, "she's gonna get better… just you wait." Naota's voice cracked, and he shuttered as tears began rolling down his face, "I just need-"

The boss cut the boy off by slamming his face into the brick wall, "Need what?" The boss sucked his teeth as he glared at the boy, "a bit more cash?"

Shuttering once again, Naota took in a deep breath then placed both his hands on the wall behind him. "Just shut up and die already…" he muttered under his breath.

The boss' eyes opened ever so slightly as he caught what the boy had said. "What was that?" he asked, raising his hand with two fingers up as a signal to his goons. On command, the goons who held guns cocked their weapons before aiming them at Naota.

"I said…" Naota muttered with a clear sob to his voice, as from the puddles surrounding the goons arose the ghostly claws belonging to the humanoid beast. "DIE!"

As if on command, the beast's claws tore through the goons, leaving them as piles of flesh and blood on the ground within the blink of an eye. Hearing this, Naota and the boss instantly turned around, the boss letting out a soul wrenching gasp upon seeing the carnage. This only lasted a minute however, as the boss quickly gritted his teeth together before turning back to Naota.

"YOU LITTLE RAT!" the boss snarled, grabbing Naota by his hair, "What did you just-"

As he locked eyes with Naota, all color left the boss' face. Standing there and glaring back at him in the dark of Naota's pupil, was the beast. For a split second, the beast's claw shot out from Naota's eye and lunged towards the boss before fading just as quickly as it had appeared.

The boss stood there, puzzled as his gaze darted from corner to corner of the alleyway. Moments later, his head suddenly spun completely around before being torn right off from his neck, his now lifeless body falling to the ground in front of Naota.

Naota stared at this, every inch of his body trembling like crazy as he himself fell to his knees before covering his eyes.

"Get up boy…" a gruff inhuman voice called to him as the beast's reflection appeared in the puddle of mud and blood beneath him, "do you not possess a reason for living?"

(Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori)

Within the Maestro's theatre, the spyre watched from the pews with a smirk upon his face as he gazed upon the center stage. On said stage was the Jester of the Court, who flared out her claws before darting towards a gang of four mannequins each dressed as one of Jayd's four rider forms.

The jester ripped through the fake Striker and Stalker forms, only to be shot in the back by a burning arrow which was followed by a freezing ball of ice towards her left shoulder. With a snarl, Jester whipped herself around to glare at Jayd's Hunter and Caster forms which stood with their weapons at the ready.

Their stances were for not however, as with a quick and powerful dash, Jester ripped them to pieces just as quickly as she did the Striker and Stalker forms. As the ribbons of the fake Jayds fell to the floor, a slow but ambient applause from Maestro and his accompanying mimics filled the theatre.

"Well done my flower," he congratulated her, "well done."

"Don't patronize me," Jester huffed, turning to face the Maestro with a soul piercing glare, "when do I get my turn with the real thing?"

"In time my pet," the Maestro sighed, allowing his hands to fall to his sides, "besides… you'd hardly be a fan of who's domain your prize as found herself in on this day."

The jester raised a brow, "Where is she?" She asked simply.

The maestro smirked, "In the home of Balegor the Rake."

The jester gasped suddenly, a shiver running down her spine, "The… the Deathlord?" She muttered under her breath.

Early one morning within the confines of the Annex, Trey huddled on the floor by the display case where Syd kept her vials of Jaydite. With his head to the ground, and arm in the small gap between the case and the floor, Trey felt along the floor for the vial he had previously dropped behind the large immovable piece of furniture.

"Come on," he muttered under his breath as his hand ran from one end of the back wall to the other, "where are you, you little..."

"Who…" a voice chirped behind Trey, causing him to jump and whack his arm on the bottom of the case it was still under.

"Ow.." he winced, looking over his shoulder to see Torchwich, tilting his head at the boy in a questioning manner. "Oh thank god," he breathed a sigh of relief, pulling his arm out from under the case before scratching the robotic owl on the top of the head, "it's just you Torchwich."

Torchwich's head tilted to the other side, gawking at the boy as the sound of a door opening followed by footsteps echoed from behind him. Trey then raised his hand to his lips, a sigh to keep quiet.

"What are you doing?" He heard Syd's voice call out to him.

Trey immediately sweat dropped, looking to see Syd looking at him with an ice pop in her mouth and a brow raised at him.

"He appears to be sitting on the ground Syd," Eli spoke, "perhaps he and Torchwich were in the middle of a game?"

"Yeah," Trey swallowed before forcing a gulp, "a game, that's what we were doing." He looked at the robot owl, "Right Torchy?"

Torchwich's eyes flared open, the owl taking three steps away from the boy with a series of very loud chirps.

"Well, whatever you were doing, mind if we pulled you away from it?" Syd asked as she reached over Trey and grabbed one of the three vials full of Jayd that were currently on the shelf, "We're getting a little desperate by the looks of it."

"Oh yeah…" Trey eyed the many emptied vials as he climbed to his feet, "I guess the small portion we got from helping Sam and Amy is taking its toll isn't it?"

"Sure is," Syd sighed as she cracked open the via she held and sprinkled a bit of the substance inside onto her ice pop before continuing to eat it, "doesn't help with the fact we haven't found a new target in the two days we've been here."

"So… in other words," Trey took in a big gulp, "you could really use every drop you can get?"

"At the moment, that is the case Fledgling Trey," Eli told him. "You seem more nervous than we are however… is there something on your mind?"

Trey managed a laugh, "Well yeah! We gotta find this thing don't we?!" He said as he grabbed Syd by the shoulders and began guiding her towards the still open door of the Annex, "Come on, I'll help this time. Aren't I still a gate keeper magnet?"

"Hey-whoa-hey!" Syd protested, taking her ice pop out of her mouth to look at the boy, "I'm still eating here!" She planted her feet on the ground to prevent herself from moving any further.

"You can eat on the way," Trey insisted, "there could very well be a fledgling dying out there!"

"Trey…" Syd shot a glare at the young man, "if there's ever a time I need to say the following words, its now…" She looked him in the eye, then smirked as wide as she could, "I like your attitude kiddo."

Trey gulped again, then managed a nervous laugh, "Uh… likewise?"

"Come on!" Syd took Trey by the hand and whisked him out of the Annex's front door, "I know just where to start our reinvigorated search! Torchy! Get the door!"

Torch chirped, flying up to the wall the large garage door was fixed to and hitting the button to close it. Once it was closed, the mechanical bird then fluttered down to the floor in front of the jaydite display case.

Once landed, a small glimmer reflected out from under it and into the bird's optics. "Hoo?" He chirped, tilting himself forward to look under the case.

Far across town in a house covered in clutter and dust, Naota shifted through the dresser in a bedroom that hadn't been used in years.

"Have you found it?" Balegor's voice echoed in the back of the boy's mind, "the relic you require?"

"Just about," Naota told him, his hands shifting through a jewelry box in the top drawer before pulling out a ring and holding it up high, "there… mother's wedding ring." He looked to a dusty old stand up mirror, "will this work?"

"That all depends," Balegor said, his image appearing within the mirror, "on your conviction fledgling."

"Then it will," Naota said with a sharpened gaze as he approached the mirror, holding the ring out the image of the beast within, "do what you have to do."

"First, I must ask and you must answer," Balegor's eyes narrowed upon the boy, "what is you goal in all this?"

"To save my mother's life," Naota returned.

"Why?" Balegor asked.

"Because," Naota tightened his free hand into a fist, "she's everything to me."

"I see…" Balegor raised a single brow at the boy, "then would you be willing to die in her place?"

Naota gasped a moment, then pulled the ring away from the beast. "What kind of a stupid ass question is that!" He barked, gritted his teeth at the beast as he tightly gripped the ring in his hand, "Of course I would… without question!"

"Very well," Balegor leaned forward, his head phasing out from the mirror and soon the rest of him followed suit, "I shall help you in your endeavour… devoted fledgling."

Back with Syd, Eli and Trey, the trio wandered the downtown core of the japanese city they found themselves in. Trey watched Syd like a hawk, paying close attention as she looked down every street before following where it led. She passed by a bakery, then a cafe with a sign in the shape of a cat's eye out front, a series of small shops before finding herself in front of the cat's eye marked cafe again.

"Syd…" Trey muttered under his breath, "are we lost?"

"Nope Trey, we aren't lost," she said with a grin, continuing on and turning a few more corners before finding herself out in front of the bakery they had started at. "Okay…" she let out a heavy sigh, "now we're lost."

Trey sweat dropped, looking at Syd as his eye began to twitch, "W-What made the difference?!"

Syd scratched the back of her neck, turning to face Trey with a nervous grin, "The fact I just realized I don't recognize a single thing here?"

"It has been a while since we were here last," Eli spoke up, "but it's not exactly like we can ask for directions."

As the trio spoke, a young japanese man about two feet taller than Trey came out from the bakery behind him with a bag in his hand. In the seconds it took him to check the time on his phone, he stepped forward only to bump directly into Trey.

"Oh," the two men both gasped in perfect sync as they turned to face one another, becoming lost in the eyes of the other for a moment. "Sorry, didn't mean to hit you."

The taller man had sharp features, short black spiked hair that was done up in a braid on one side with serious sunken in eyes that matched his hair. He wore a simple white long sleeved shirt and blue jeans that were both neatly pressed along with a pair of black stylish shoes that had not a single scuff or mark on them. His attire seemed plain, save for a pair of earrings he wore in the shape of both black card suits, a spade of his left ear and a club on his right.

Trey gulped, "Whoa…"

The taller male quickly dodged Trey's gaze then pushed passed the shorter male and carried on his way.

"Trey?... Hello?" Syd called out to the boy while poking him in the cheek, "When you're done feasting on eye candy, can you come back to reality?"

Trey blushed hard, then shook his head before looking to Syd. "Sorry about that," he grinned, "what were you saying?"

"Its Fumiko fledgling Trey," Eli spoke, the taller dark hair male stopping in his tracks upon hearing the first name Eli had dropped, "we need to figure out how to locate her."

Suddenly, the taller man turned on his heel and threw a punch right at Syd. Trey's eyes shot open, only for Syd to catch the punch from over her shoulder with her back turned to her assailant.

"Well, you're a nosey one ain't ya?" She smirked, turning to face the male with a glare. "You got a problem with anything we just said, mister?"

"What do you want with Fumiko?" The male asked, pulling his fist back before hurling another at Syd only for her to catch that one as well.

"Sorry little one," Syd winced as she and the male exchanged a few blows, "that's classified. However, if you know where she is," she caught one last punch from the male before looking him dead in the eye, "now's the time to tell."

The male raised a brow, examining the female before him and noticing the dice shaped crest on her jacket, "Red hair.. a green D6 crest…" he then eyed Eli's gem on her bracelet, "and a navigator conduit. Occupied, I presume?"

"As it would appear," Eli spoke up, "it's nice to see you after all this time Rin."

"No way," Syd blinked, pulling her hands away and letting out a small gasp. "Rin?! That's really you?!" She smirked, then reached up and pinched his cheeks, "You were so small the last time I saw you! What happened?"

Rin simply blinked, "Time…" he shrugged, "I guess?" He looked to Trey, "Who's your friend over there?"

"Classified," she told him.

"I see," Rin looked back to Syd, "and your reason for seeing Fumiko?"

"Also classified," Syd returned.

"Figures," Rin let out another heavy sigh before turning back to the direction he was previously headed. "Well, if you're here to see her I'll take you right to her."

"Thank you very much," Syd said with a bow as she and Trey followed Rin.

"Eli," Trey whispered, "you were able to recognize him despite how long it's been?"

"Of course," Eli told him, also in a whisper, "and it surprises me that Syd could not-"

Eli was suddenly silenced by Syd hurling a quick jab into Trey's shoulder, "Oh can it," she blushed, "no one's perfect alright? Not even me."

In a dimly lit bar on the other side of town, a tall suited man adorned with jewels snarled at a photo that he gripped in his hand. The photo was of bloodstained Naota leaving an alleyway. "When was this photo taken?" he asked one of his goons.

"Five minutes after our brothers were killed sir," the goon told him.

The boss sucked his teeth, casting the photo to the table and towards the other goons which surrounded him. "Listen up boys," he looked upon his men, "I want this kid found and," he ran his hand along his throat, "taken care of."

"Don't worry boss," the goon chuckled as the other men surrounding him cocked their guns, "he will be."

Suddenly, the front doors to the bar opened up and Naota walked inside. Closing the doors behind him, he stared the entire gang down as they sat there gawking at him.

"Hey boss," whispered the goon, "ain't that the kid?"

The boss snarled, "You're damn right he is." He snapped his fingers, causing all his underlings to shoot up from their seats and aim their guns at Naota.

"Bale'gor," Naota whispered under his breath, aiming his closed fist at the gang which was adorned by his mother's ring, "you know what to do."

"As you command," called Bale'gor as he emerged from the ring and charged at the gang, ripping them to pieces within an instant. As blood and dismembered flesh stained the establishment, all the other patrons and staff stared at the scene that unfolded and fled in mass panic after a loud collective scream.

"Good work Bale'gor," Naota said in a cold and commanding voice as he headed up to the remains that was previously the boss. He knelt down and began removing the jewels from him, even going as far as to take every bit of cash he had in his wallet, "Take what you can, then let's get out of here."

"The ones that got away," Bale'gor looked to the kid with a raised brow, "you aren't going to stop them? They might alert the authorities."

"Then that's all the more reason why we need to move as fast as we can," Naota said, his tone not softening for a moment as he stuffed the valuables he had looted into the pockets of his hoodie. "I've got too much to do to slow down."

{End of Part A}

{Start of Part B}

Trey and Syd followed Rin as he opened the door to a dusty antique shop. Rin entered the shop, wiping his shoes on the mat with Syd following suit as she casually strolled in. Trey entered, walking off the mat without doing anything to it only for Rin, Syd and Eli to look back at him and saying in unison, "Shoes."

Trey's eyes widened as Syd wagged her finger in front of his face, "First rule of Fumiko's place, wiped your shoes and your face."

"Oh, sorry," Trey blushed in embarrassment, taking a moment to step back onto the mat and wiping his shoes on it. He then looked back up at Syd with a glare, "And why do I gotta wash my face?"

"Cause you just came in from outside," Rin said as he placed the bag he held down on a desk with a register near the store's back wall, grabbing an apron shortly after. "I'll go fetch Fumiko and let her know you're here."

"No need my son," a voice sang like chimes on a hot summer day. All eyes turned to a doorway lined with a beaded curtain only a few feet away from the desk Rin stood beside.

Standing there against the doorway was a tall full figured woman, her eye hair and skin color the exact same as Rin's. Her long flowing black hair was down and she was dressed in a loose fitting silk midnight blue kimono with pink tsubaki flowers flowing throughout its design.

"Fumiko!" Syd cheered as she rushed over and threw her arms around the woman, pulling her into a tight hug, "How've you been?"

"Can't complain personally," Fumiko grinned, reaching up to pinch Syd's cheeks, "but it's always so dull when you're not around S.Y.D."

"Syd," Trey corrected Fumiko, all eyes going over to him.

Fumiko tilted her head to the side, "I'm sorry my child.. What was that?"

"Sorry," Trey bowed his head to Fumiko, "she goes by Syd now, not S.Y.D."

"Oh really?" Fumiko's eyes narrowed upon the red haired girl in front of her, "is this true?"

Syd nodded, "It has a ring to it."

"I see, and I happen to agree," Fumiko's grin returned as she looked back at Trey, "then what can I call you young sir?"

"Trey ma'am," the boy told her, "Trey Morgan-Hart."

"Well then Trey Morgan-Hart," Fumiko's gaze turned to her son Rin who had at this point sat down at the front desk and began working on paperwork, "would you be so kind as to lend my son here a hand while I speak with," she looked back to the red haired network rider, "Syd was it?"

Syd nodded once again.

"O-Oh, sure.." Trey muttered, glancing at Rin only to meet the other man's gaze for a moment before going right back to looking at Fumiko. "But! Can I ask a question first?"

"Of course," Fumiko said in a voice softer than silk as Syd walked past Fumiko, disappearing through the doorway, "ask me anything."

"How did you know we were here?" Trey asked point blank.

"I am an oracle, Fledgling Trey Morgan-Hart," Fumiko smirked as she turned on her heel to follow after Syd, "being able to see those who will soon be in your path is the first thing I was required to master."

Trey watched as Fumiko disappeared beyond the doorway, the young man remaining still long enough for even the beaded curtain to stop swaying and return to the way it had been before anyone had even touched it.

"Whoa…" he finally muttered. "OKAY!" he clapped his hands together, then turned to Rin, "So, what can I help you with Rin?"

As Trey turned to face Rin, he saw the other man sit at the front desk with his feet up on it and shuffling a deck of cards in his hands. "Hmm?" muttered Rin as he looked up at Trey, "Oh, that.. Sorry, but I already finished all that."

Trey blinked, "What?! When?!" he barked.

Rin blinked at him, "While you were standing there."

Trey's jaw hit the floor, then he slapped himself in the face, "I'm sorry…"

Rin blinked once again, then he managed a small laugh, "Hey, don't worry about it." He finished shuffling the deck of cards then placed them down on the table, "It's not like you work here or anything."

Trey let out a sigh of relief, then pointed a finger at Rin, "You promise?"

"Of course I do," Rin assured him, "besides, I thought you were cute.." he shrugged, "in a weird sort of way."

This comment somehow made all of Trey's nervousness wash away, "O-Oh…" he muttered, swallowing once again, "Well, there has to be something I can do."

Rin stared at Trey for a moment, then eyed a folded up chair in the corner of the room, "You could grab that chair and sit with me for a while."

"Alright," Trey said as he grabbed the chair and unfolded it, placing it down in front of the desk, "so…" he sat down and looked to Rin all while tapping his hands on the surface of the desk that divided them, "what are we doing?"

"As an oracle in training I need to practice with basic fortune telling," Rin said as he placed his hand atop the deck of cards on the table, then looked Trey in the eye, "care to lend a hand?"

"Sure," Trey smiled, "what do I do?"

"Just sit there," Rin told him, spreading the cards out on the table with one quick motion of his hand, "and pick three cards."

"Okay," Trey said as he pointed to one card by the end that was once the top of the deck, then one by the end that was once the top and finally a card near the middle, "what for?"

"They will represent your past," Rin said as he picked up the first card Trey pointed to, "your present," he then picked up the second card, "and your future," before finally picking up the third.

With one hand, Rin swept the deck back up before splaying out Trey's three cards in front of him from right to left in the order in which they were chosen. Rin then placed his hand over the first card, then looked back to Trey.

"Ready?" he asked the other man. Trey simply nodded, then Rin flipped it over, "Queen of Hearts," he announced as the card was revealed.

Trey blinked, then looked to Rin, "What does it mean?"

"If I recall correctly," Rin tapped his finger on the surface of the desk, closing his eyes as he recited line for line what he had read on the card before him, "A fair-haired woman with a good nature; or a woman with Water signs predominating in her chart. Kind advice. Affectionate, caring woman. Sometimes, this card can indicate the mother or a mother figure."

"The mother…" Trey muttered as he stared at the card, feeling his heart sink down into his chest.

Rin looked at him with an empathetic gaze, reaching his hand out to cup the hand of the young man in front of him. "She passed away sometime ago… didn't she?"

Trey shook his head, "No… at least, not that I know of," he said, balling his hand into a fist and pulling it away from Rin's. "She was a network rider, and she left when I was little."

"Even so, her leaving put a whole in your heart no one could fill," Rin continued, "didn't it?"

Trey's lower lip began to quiver, feeling the sting behind his eyes of tears which took all of his strength to hold back. After a nod, he took in a deep breath, "Next card please…" he said on the exhale."

Rin nodded in understanding, going to the second card and flipping it over, "Ten of hearts." He raised a brow, taking note of the fact it was the same suit as the last card, "Good luck, success. This is an important card that suggests good fortune after difficulty."

This reading made Trey snicker. "Accurate," he said as he wiped his eyes.

Rin looked to Trey and raised a brow, "How so?"

"It's a long story," he said, dismissing the matter with a wave of his hand. "Next card! Future this time, right?"

"Future, yes," Rin nodded before flipping over the final card, "King of Hearts."

Trey's eyes shot open as he looked to the full line, "Hearts for all three?!" He looked Rin in the eye, "Is that unusual?"

Rin nodded, "Very."

"What does it mean?" Trey asked, "The card I mean."

"An affectionate, caring man," Rin told him, once again placing his hand over Trey's, "this man will help you out without much talk. His actions will reveal his kindness and concern."

Trey blushed, then dodged Rin's gaze, "You… you don't say…"

"Trey," Rin said in a stern voice, "would you be willing to spend a bit more time with me after work? There's a place I'd like to take you."

Trey broke out in a slight fit of nervous laughter, "Geez, you sound like you're asking me out on a date or something."

"It's because I am," Rin told him, narrowing his gaze upon Trey, "so, how about it? You good for around nine-ish?"

Trey looked up to Rin, his eyes sparkling as he met the other man's gaze, "... Yes."

Beyond the doorway at the back of the storeroom Trey and Rin sat in, Syd and Fumiko sat at a round table in a darkened room lined wall to wall with violet curtains with the only light being cast from the gentle flicker of a single candle placed at the center of the table.

"So, that boy out there," Fumiko spoke, looking Syd in the eye, "he's Jewel's boy, isn't he?"

Syd managed a slight nervous laugh. "Nothing gets past you, does it Fumiko?" she said as scratched the back of her neck, "When did you figure it out?"

Fumiko smirked as she ran her hand over the candle on the table, "I foresaw it… as I do all things my child."

"Okay…" Syd thought for a moment, "what am I going to ask next?"

"Yes," Fumiko looked at the girl in front of her, "my sister was the navigator of the network rider that took down one of the spyres."

Syd let out a small whistle, "Impressive as always."

"I am aware you may not have the clearance to tell us Fumiko, but I must ask nonetheless," Eli spoke in a composed tone of voice, "how did they do it?"

"I can't say… not because I'm not allowed," Fumiko let out a heavy sigh as he hand dropped to the table, "but because I do not know." She balled her hand into her fist as she looked Syd in the eye with a sharpened gaze, "All I know, is that my sister gave her life to do it."

The room fell silent for a long while, then finally, "Damn…" Syd muttered after what felt like an eternity, "I knew the spyres were tough but…"

"But nothing," Fumiko gave her a stern look, "Syd, Eli… the two of you are planning on going after a spyre are you?"

Syd froze, then turned away from Fumiko, "That's…" she muttered under her breath, "classified."

"Don't be stupid Syd," Fumiko said, reaching out to take hold of Syd's hand which sat in a closed fist on the table, "you can tell me and no one, not even Cleric, will ever know."

Syd remained silent, but eventually, "We have a mission, Fumiko, given to us by Cleric herself," Eli told her, "to destroy the remaining spyres wherever they might lie."

"I see…" Fumiko said, pulling her hand away, "so you both plan to die then?"

"If that's what it takes," Syd told her, looking back to Fumiko with a smile on her face, "to protect this world."

Fumiko gasped under her breath. "Syd…" she muttered, only to clear her throat moments later. "Then before you do, I have a favor to ask the both of you."

Syd smirked, crossing her arms, "Hit us with it."

"It's a fledgling, who's the son of a dear friend of mine," Fumiko told the both of them, "save him."

As the sun set around him, Naota sat on the dusty couch in his living while looking out to the coffee table which was covered in both cash and jewels. The cash was clean and intact, but the jewels were scuffed and stained by dried blood. Bale'gor watched the boy from across the coffee table with the eyes of a predator watching his prey, the fledgling with much the same gaze as he, with a simple ragged, cleaned the blood and human remains from each jewel he had in his possession.

"All this bloodshed and clutter," Bale'gor spoke up suddenly, his eyes still fixed on Naota, "what's it for?"

"My mother is dying Bale'gor," Naota told the gate keeper, not taking his eyes of the jewelry he was cleaning, "and I'm going to use all the money I can to save her life."

"But you have taken many more lives in your efforts to do so," Bale'gor said, raising a brow, "won't the authorities come after you?"

"Let them come after me," Naota returned, "I don't care."

"You'd throw your life away for another?" Bale'gor questioned, "Why?"

"You said you were human once, didn't you?" Naota took his eyes off the jewel he head and turned to the undead he viewed as his accomplish. "Was there ever someone that you'd risk everything for?"

Bale'gor stared at the boy in front of him, then suddenly he found himself snapping back in his mind to when he was human.

_Bale'gor, then a young black man with rough features in a white long sleeve shirt and roughed up jeans with simple red runners, sat in the passenger seat of a car looking to the back where a small girl lay asleep in a booster seat._

"_Is she asleep?" asked an asain male in a semi formal attire._

"_Yeah," the human Bale'gor said as he patted the girl on the head, a smile coming to his face, "she really is a cute one by the way."_

"_So, I'm guessing that's a yes? On sticking around I mean," the other male grinned. "She really does like you, and so do I."_

_The human Bale'gor's grin widened, then cupped the other man's cheek before leaning into kiss him on the lips, "What sort of question is that?" he whispered against his lips, "of course I do."_

_This intimate moment was not meant to last however, as a pair of headlights blared through the front window followed by a sudden collision to the driver's side of the vehicle. As a result of the impact, the vehicle flew backwards, flipped and tumbled until it crashed on the ground causing glass and debris to scatter on the road and the human form of Bale'gor to be jettisoned from the vehicle. _

"_Oww…" muttered the human Bale'gor as he writhed on the ground in agony with shards of glass covering him and cutting into his flesh, "shit, what the hell was that?"_

"_HEY!" a loud voice roared from over Bale'gor's shoulder, a scrawny white man with a curly beard and baseball cap dressed in flannel coming over and kicking the downed man in the gut, "WATCH WHERE YOU FUCKING DRIVING FELLA!" He spat in Bale'gor's face, the took a swig from a bottle held in his hand._

_Bale'gor reached forward, grabbing the man by his ankle, "Please…" he muttered, "call for help…" he whimpered, looking up to the man who was just kicking him, "there's still time to save them."_

"_Them?" the drunkard raised a brow, looking over to the totaled car before letting out a laugh. "Oh I'll help 'em alright fella." The man smirked and approached the vehicle, emptying the bottle he held over the wrecked before breaking the bottom with one hard toss to the ground._

"_Wait…" Bale'gor gasped, "what are you doing?!"_

_The drunkard smirked, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a lighter, "Helping them to hell." With one quick flick of his thumb, the male ignited the lighter and tossed it onto the car, walking away from the wreckage and back over to his truck as the vehicle exploded next to Bale'gor._

"_NO!" cried the broken man on the ground as he watched the two inside become engulfed in flames. All the man could do was watch as the flames shot up, burned all around them and died leaving nothing but scorched metal and bone once they eventually died down. "Someone please… help…" the human Bale'gor whimpered, tears running down his face as he stared at the rubble and ash._

_In the dead silence, a faint clatter of ghostly chains filled the air followed by a gruff booming voice. "The souls within have passed on already.. Forgive me, but fate stayed my feet from aiding you sooner."_

_All the human Bale'gor could do in that moment was tilt his head back to catch a glimpse of who was speaking to him. As he turned his gaze to the voice all that the broken man was able to see was a large battleaxe coated in an ice cold aura. The axe itself seemed to be made of bone with a screaming skull adorning the center of the double sided blade._

"_I see," the broken male sharply swallowed, then closed his eyes, "then use that weapon of yours to allow me to join them."_

"_Forgive me, but I cannot," the voice told him, "it is not your time to leave this world."_

"_But I am already dead…" the human Bale'gor pleaded, "a world without them is not worth living…"_

"_But do you not see?" The voice aimed his battleaxe to the scorched wreckage, "If the condemned soul who ran you off the road is not put where he belongs, only more will be lost the same as your loved ones. Knowing that, can you truly leave this world?"_

_The human Bale'gor looked to the wreckage, then narrowed his gaze upon it, "No…" he muttered, his voice turning into a snarl as pale white fur began to cover his body, "I cannot!"_

"_Then it is as I suspected," the voice called to him as the broken male clawed to his feet, becoming more and more like the undead he was in the present, "you still possess a reason to exist." The axe was lowered onto one of the male's shoulders, then was placed on the other, "Arise Bale'gor the Rake, my new angel to lives cut short and jailor of the damned."_

_As the battleaxe lowered, the newly reborn Bale'gor rose to stand before the being that gave him new life. Even in the dead of night the being before Bale'gor was as clear as day, a large yet stoic orc with skin as grey as a corpse frozen over in the dead of winter. His hair, black as obsidian was done up in a crest that went up in a fan like motion on the top of his head. He wore heavy plated armor, every inch of which was adorned with some form of skull or bone detailing that was so close to life like it was uncertain if it was made from steel or the genuine article. The entire being before Bale'gor gave off an ice cold aura like frozen air rushing off from dry ice._

"_Before I take what's mine," Bale'gor bowed, "what do I call you?"_

"_Astaroth," the being told him, "the Deathlord."_

_Further down the road, the drunkard drove his trunk with the radio on full blast, driving through a red light only to be stopped by the sudden thud of Bale'gor landing on his hood. The drunkard jumped back, looking forward and being struck speechless by the being before him._

_With a snarl, Bale'gor drove his claw through the windshield and grabbed the drunkard by his throat. "Hey," the undead snarled, "watch where you're going."_

Back in the present day with Trey and Rin. The two young men sat as they previously were in front of the store as Syd rushed out from the back and grabbed Trey by the collar, "Come on Trey! We've got our mission!"

Rin and Trey both blinked in surprise, the both of them having barely enough time to react. Nevertheless, Rin reached out a hand to grab Trey but simply was not fast enough to prevent him being whisked over to the door by Syd.

"Syd! Wait a moment please!" Fumiko called out to her as she came into the front room, regaining the smile she had when the trio had first arrived. "Can you do me one more favor before you leave?"

Syd paused, then looked over to Fumiko, "Uh… sure?" she questioned, unsure of what Fumiko wanted at this time.

Fumiko looked to Rin, "You were practising your fortune telling, correct?" Rin nodded, then Fumiko looked back to Syd. "Then perhaps a quick reading before leave?"

"Alright," Syd said, releasing Trey as she approached the desk as Rin began shuffling the cards in front of him, "but just a quick one, okay? Bing bang boom, ya know?"

"Alright," Rin said, looking Syd in the eye as he finished shuffling and placed the cards down on the desk, "past, present or future?"

Syd thought for a moment, "Uh…."

"Future," Fumiko cut in.

Syd and Rin both looked to Fumiko, then awkwardly looked back to each other, "Uh… what she said?" she laughed nervously, pointing over to Fumiko.

Rin nodded, then splayed the cards out on the desk, "Pick one then turn it over."

"Right," Syd nodded back, running her hand along the cards before finding one towards the middle but leaning closer to what was once the bottom of the deck. "This one," she said, picking it up and turning it over.

All eyes turned to the card as Rin read out, "Ace…" he paused for a moment before looking Syd in the eye, "of Spades."

Trey stared at the card, then looked to Rin, "And… what does that one mean?"

"He can tell us when we get back," Syd told Trey, grabbing Trey by the wrist and heading out the door, "See you in a spell!"

With that, Syd, Trey and Eli left and the door slammed behind them. Once they were gone, Fumiko looked to her son then raised a brow at him, "Rin?"

"Ace of Spades," he told her, "Misfortune; sometimes associated with a difficult ending… Or more often," he looked towards the door that Syd and Trey had just left out from, "Death."

**To Be Continued**

{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}


	8. 8th Revolution: The Rake Part 2

**8th Revolution: Grief, That Which Damns You?**

As the rays of the setting sun danced across the room Rin stood at a mirror, that was hung on the wall to the left of the shop's front door, combing back his hair with a bit of gel until it was of a neatly slicked back style. The male, once he was happy with his hair, donned a slight smirk just as his hair shot back to it's spiked up style despite the layers of gel that was supposed to be keeping it in place.

Rin's smirk instantly faded to a glare. "Every damn time…" he huffed before palming his face.

"Going out somewhere?" Fumiko called to her son, a grin on her face as she watched him from the doorway to the back room.

"Something like that," Rin huffed once again while giving his hair another frustraited comb through, "I just wish my stupid hair would cooperate-"

Suddenly, Fumiko took the comb while cupping her son's cheek. "Don't fight it," she cooed as she ran the comb through his hair with ease, making it how Rin was trying to make it look earlier, "work with it."

Rin smiled at his mother as he examined her handy work in the mirror, "Thanks."

"This is all for some new guy, isn't it?" Fumiko asked with a smirk, pinching the young man on the cheek. "Anyone I know?"

"Oh yeah… you know him," Rin nodded, looking at her after taking in a big gulp. "You know that guy that came in earlier? With Syd?"

Fumiko's eyes suddenly widened, "Oh sweety…" she covered her mouth, "you didn't-"

"I asked him out, okay," Rin let out a sigh with closing his eyes. "Yeah, I know… network riders are a no go. But, Trey isn't one," he looked back to his mother, "right?"

"Rin…" Fumiko let out a sigh of her own, "network rider or not, he's working with one." With one hand, she reached out and gently held his shoulder, "Just, know what you're getting into… okay?"

Rin stared at her for a moment, then spoke again, "Will he show up tonight?... Tell me." With both her hands, Fumiko cupped her son's cheek then closed her eyes. "Well…" he muttered, "what do you see?"

"I see both you and Trey," Fumiko told him, "standing outside at night."

Rin took in a deep breath, "Are... we together?"

Slowly but surely, Fumiko opened her eyes and met her son's gaze, "What do you think?"

With a sharp exhale, Rin pulled away from his mother and looked into the mirror behind him. "He'll be there," Rin said as he adjusted his hair, "he said he would be."

"If that's what you believe, I'm not about to tell you otherwise," Fumiko said as she stepped away from her son and towards the doorway to the backroom.

Upon entering the room where she and Syd had just conversed, Fumiko let out a small gasp to see a violet chess piece in the shape of a noble steed staring back at her from the dead center of the table.

"Brother…" she whispered as she stepped forward and picked up the chess piece, closing her hands around it before holding it close to her heart, "are you here?"

"Of course I am," a cold yet even toned voice echoed out from the chess piece in Fumiko's grasp, "sister."

"Then please brother…" muttered Fumiko under her breath, "look out for Syd and her companions this night."

{Insert Opening Theme: "Rinbu Revolution" by Chihara Minori}

Later that night on the far side of town, Syd marched down an old dusty alleyway. Her eyes were fixed on the path a head of her as Trey tried with all his might to keep up with her alarmingly fast pace.

"Hey Syd," Trey panted as his footing slipped ever so slightly, "you think we can slow down for a moment?"

"My apologies Fledgling Trey, but we're under special request from an oracle," Eli informed him as Syd kept up her pace without a sign of slowing down, "take a break if you desire but my contractor and I have it in our best interest to remain focused on the task at hand."

Trey checked his watch which currently read five after eight. "Thanks for the offer," he said with a grin as he hurried on after Syd, "but I'm just as focused as you two are-"

With a sudden grab of his shoulder from Syd, Trey fell silent. With a gasp, he turned his head back to the female behind him who was presently staring dead a head with a finger to her lips. Without a word, she motioned the previously mentioned finger forward along her eye line.

As Trey turned to where Syd was pointing, he locked eyes with a hooded Naota who stared back at him like a deer in headlights. Trey stepped forward, only for Naota to step backward and sharpen his gaze in turn.

Gritting his teeth, he raised his ringed fist at the seeming duo in front of him. "BALE'GOR!" he barked, the reflection of his undead companion appearing in the stone in the center of the ring he wore.

"SYD!" Eli called out to his contractor.

Syd narrowed her gaze upon the ring and pulled out her buckle and green caster die, "On it!"

As the undead gatekeeper erupted from the ring, Syd grabbed Trey by the collar and tossed him out of the way as she slapped her buckle onto her waist with the green die being placed within in the instant it took her to pull it from her coat and attach it to her waist. She then gave the die a hard spin and pulled up her hood.

"GAME START! STRIKER! PIERCING SABER ARISE!" roared her buckle as Syd turned to Jayd's striker form. The network rider darted forward, swords drawn and caught Bale'gor's oncoming fangs and claws in an x shaped parry with both of her blades.

Naota took this time to turn on his heel and run down the alleyway.

"FLEDGLING TREY!" Eli called out to the boy on the ground, "Ensure that boy does not get away!"

Trey gasped, looking to his companions and noting their current situation, "BUT-"

"Don't worry about us," Jayd said as she kneed Bale'gor in the gap between his legs, using the opening it created to grab him by his forearm and hurl him into a nearby wall opposite Trey, "we got a job to do." She looked at Trey from over her shoulder, "Now get going already."

With a nod, Trey picked himself up off the ground then chased after Naota. It wasn't long after Trey had left that Bale'gor clawed his way back to his feet.

"That… was a deplorable tactic…" the undead sneered at his opponent, "have you network riders always fought such little regard for honor?"

Jayd paused for a moment, then laughed as she raised her swords at her foe. "You got a lotta balls for someone using a fledgling as a shield."

In a flash, Bale'gor disappeared from sight only to reappear behind Jayd moments later. Jayd gasped at the sight of this, quickly turning to the left and locking eyes with the beast that was now swiping both his claws down upon her.

"SYD!" Eli called his contractor.

"On it!" Jayd returned.

Jayd raised her swords to block the attack, but despite her best efforts she found herself no match for Bale'gor's raw strength as the undead tore her swords from her grasp with one claw and threw them to the ground.

"Wha?" escaped Jayd's lips as with the other claw, Bale'gor grabbed Jayd by the back of her head and slammed her to the ground.

"Give up Network Rider," snarled Bale'gor, grabbing Jayd's left arm with his claw as he continued to hold her down, "or else."

Grabbing hold of one of her swords with her free hand, Jayd shot a glare up at Bale'gor from where she lay in the dirt. "Not a chance, demon!" she spat at him.

Bale'gor's eyes narrowed upon Jayd, pressing his foot down on her back as he twisted and pulled back on her arm, "So be it then."

With a blood curdling scream from the network rider, Bale'gor tore Jayd's arm out of its socket. Jayd panted violently, the shock alone making it impossible for her to react to or even register the gate keeper continuing to hold onto her arm and ripping it right off from the rest of what connected it to her torso.

"Syd?!..." Eli called to her as Jayd fell lifeless on the ground, still in rider form as green sparks emitting from the stump where her arm once was, "SYD!"

As this went on, the Jester of the Court watched from above the roof above.

"Stupid Bale'gor," the Jester sucked her teeth, readying her claw with the undead in her sights, "she's mine to destroy! Not yours-" suddenly, a small chime pair of chimes echoed through the night sky which interrupted her train of thought.

With a gasp, she looked to the left of her to see the black rabbit mimic Poppy and the white rabbit mimic Clover standing on the roof with her. Though they were a few feet away, the way they stared at her in silence made it seem as though they were right on top of her.

"Really?" The Jester sucked her teeth, lowering her claw before balling it into a fist, "what do you clones want?"

"The Maestro asks that you do not engage with the network rider," Poppy and Clover spoke in unison, "or you shall suffer the penalty."

"Like I care!" The Jester scoffed, gritting her teeth together as she pushed past the twin mimics and leapt to another roof, "The network rider means more to me than whatever he can do to-"

As she landed on the next roof her eyes shot open as she caught the sight of a stranger who stood with his profile towards her and his eyes on the alley below. He wore a black long coat that matched his hair that was of a similar style to what Rin naturally had, a pair of sharp glasses framing his sunken in eyes and intense yet calm features.

"Another fledgling," she smirked, licking her lips. "Fine, I'll let Bale'gor have his fun for now."

Stepping forward, the Jester shifted into her more human appearance that she used under the name Kaitlyn. This time she wore a more punkish attire consisting of a black leather jacket over top a violet crop top with the letters 'bgdg' emblazoned across it in a gold spray paint esc pattern, as well as a pair of black cut off jean shorts and a spiked violet belt and black combat boots with a long sleeved fishnet unitard underneath her entire outfit.

"Hey there stranger," Kaitlyn cooed to the male as she approached him, swaying her hips in time with her stride, "what's a handsome man like you doing all alone on a night like this?"

Clover and Poppy watched this from a distance, keeping an eye on her. The male however remained silent, keeping his eyes fixed on Trey and Syd below.

Kaitlyn's warm gaze shifted into a mildly annoyed glare. "Hey… you know you're supposed to answer when a woman is openly flirting with you, don't ya?"

The man said nothing.

Kaitlyn huffed, cocking her head to the side as she crossed her arms, "You got a name or something?"

The man, once again, said nothing.

Kaitlyn snarled, then slammed her foot on the ground, "ANSWER ME DAMMIT!"

"Give me one good reason why I should," the man finally spoke, shooting her a glare in the corner of his eye as he pulled from his pocket a hexagonal tile marked with the violet impression of knight chess piece, "demon."

Kaitlyn gasped. "Oh crap!" she muttered under her breath as she leapt backward into a four legged defensive stance before reverting to the Jester of the Court. "How did you know?!"

"I didn't," the man said as he cast open his coat with a single flare of his none tile baring hand to reveal a belt of a similar make to Syd's, this one cast in gold and violet, "until now."

He pulled on a lever on the right of his buckle, a panel flipping over as the buckle opened, "GAME START!" cried the buckle as the man slotted his tile a slot on the now reversed panel then plunged the lever back into the buckle as the panel flipped back over.

The moment the buckle was closed, a stampede of violet horses made of energy descended from above the male and crashed upon him. As they disturbsed, they formed into the plate arm of a noble violet and gold knight with pauldrons in the style of horse heads. With a small whiny, a gold horse trotted out from his belt and flipped into his tri horned helmet to become the visor.

"KNIGHT!" shouted the male's buckle as he drew a long sword and small shield from his back, "ADVANCE!"

"Your move," the knight told the Jester as he stared her down.

"So it really is you, the network rider that slaughtered that old rock Astaroth," the Jester snarled as she readied her claws for battle, "Artemis!"

Meanwhile, back at Fumiko's shop, Rin stood outside by the door leaning against the display window. As he practiced shuffling his deck of cards, Fumiko came outside with the ringing of the door's chimes.

"Going somewhere?" Rin asked her, not looking up from the cards as he packed them together and finished shuffling them.

"Just for a walk," Fumiko told him as she managed a smile, "would you.. Like to come with?"

Rin shook his head, "I'm waiting for someone, you know that."

"Oh, I see…" Fumiko patted him gently on the head, then bowed to him. "Be safe then," she said before heading off down the road.

Rin shifted his gaze towards Fumiko for a moment, then turned his eyes back to the cards in his hand. Placing his unsteady hand on the top card, he took in a deep breath then exhaled, "Future…" he muttered as he drew the top card.

As Fumiko walked, her expression sharpened as she balled her hands into fists, "Please Chikane… hold on a little while longer."

{End of Part A}

{Star of Part B}

Back on the rooftop with The Jester and Artemis, the gate keeper and the network rider stared each other down.

"Well?" Artemis spoke in a cold tone of voice, "I'm waiting."

The Jester sucked her teeth, "What a pain." She ripped off two bombs from her hip, both marked with a smiley face, "One of the reasons I can't stand men!"

With a strong overhand throw from both her arms, The Jester hurled both of her bombs at the ground where Artemis stood. Upon impact, they erupted into a large cloud of black smoke which engulfed the network rider.

"Game over!" The Jester laughed, dropping to an all fours pouncing position with her claws at the ready.

She was about to dart forward when suddenly.

"Huh?" The Jester gasped as she saw a small shadow in the smoke.

Moments later, the shield of Artemis ripped through the smoke towards The Jester.

"SHIT!" She snarled, leaping to the left only to hit something moments later.

"What now?!" The Jester looked over her shoulder, only to freeze in horror to see Artemis directly behind her with his blade raised over his head.

Wordless, he brought his sword down upon the Jester and delivered a heavy slash across her back.

"AAHHHH!" cried the Jester as she was brought to her knees, unable to move.

"While you still live gate keeper... tell me something..." Artemis said as he stepped in front of The Jester, walked over to his shield and picked it up before turning his gaze back to his wounded opponent, "you're a spyre?"

The Jester clawed at her shoulder, gritting her teeth as the sting of Artemis' blade burned through her skin. "If I was…" she panted as she managed to stare down the network rider, "what makes you think I'd tell you?"

"So then, you're just a normal mimic…" Artemis let out a disappointed sigh as he grabbed the handle of his buckle, pulling it out before plunging it back in, "what a pain."

"CHECK MATE!" roared Artemis' belt, his sword becoming engulfed in a brilliant violet flame as five tiles of light shot out from his belt and fell in a left facing L shaped pattern between Artemis and the Jester.

"No… not like this!" The Jester screamed in her mind, the face of Syd smiling in front of her replacing the image of the charging network rider for a moment as time seemed to slow to a claw around her. "It can't end like this!"

As Artemis reached her, he swung his blade towards the Jester who knelt at his left only for Clover to materialize between the Jester and his blade.

Just as Artemis cut through the white rabbit mimic, the Jester's eyes opened before shaking in horror at the sight in front of her.

"Sister…" Clover muttered as she looked over her shoulder to The Jester as her body began to crumble into threads, "get her out of here…"

The Jester, reaching forward allowed for only one word to escape her lips, "CLOVER!"

The Jester's grasp did not reach her however, as the Black Rabbit Poppy emerged from a rift behind the Jester and grabbed her by the shoulder.

Before Artemis could so much as pull back his sword, Poppy stared him down and muttered, "The Maestro has his eye on you," before falling back into the rift, taking the Jester with her as the rift closed behind them.

"The Maestro?" Artemis questioned, lowering his sword before pulling out the lever from his belt and returning to his civilian form. He placed his hand over a pendant that hung from his next that appeared to have an empty space where a gemstone was once held, "Looks like I now know the name of my next opponent…" he said before staring up at the full moon that l "my darling Luna."

At the exit of the alleyway, Naota darted out from it and onto the dead city streets. He was about to make a break for it down the empty sidewalk, but was instead tackled to the ground by Trey.

"OW!" Naota winced as he slammed across the pavement. Looking over his shoulder to Trey who had him pinned at the waist, Naota began smacking the other male on the top of his head with his fists. "IDIOT!" he yelled at Trey, "LET ME GO!"

"NO!" Trey yelled back at him, his hold on Naota only getting tighter the more he was hit.

"WHY THE FUCK NOT!" Naota demanded.

"Because Naota…" a familiar voice echoed from in front of the quarrelling males on the ground, "your mother needs you, more than you know."

With a gasp under his breath, Naota took his gaze off of Trey and looked over to in front of him to see Fumiko standing in front of him basked in the moonlit from above. As his eyes met hers it became clear to him from her expression alone that she was on the verge of heartbreak seeing him in this manor.

Naota took in a deep gulp, then muttered, "A-Aunt Fumiko?"

Back in the alleyway with Bale'gor, the gate keeper loomed over the network rider with her severed arm still clenched within his claw.

"Well?" he asked the limp Jayd beneath his feet, shaking her with a slight movement of his foot, "Anything left from that stubborn mouth of yours?" He paused for a moment, waiting for a response only to snarl when he received none. "Figured as much," he said, dropping Jayd's arm in front of her as he stepped off her body, "your kind has always been so fragile."

Bale'gor took a few steps away from Jayd, her arm and stump continuing to spark as the gate keeper got farther and farther away. He reached a turn in the alleyway, a good ten feet away from Jayd which was then that the network rider reached for their remaining arm and grabbed hold of the one that had been severed.

With a hiss and a hum, the sparks from Jayd's severed arm and her stump grew violent as the network rider rose to her feet. This sudden movement caused Bale'gor to look back in the corner of his eye, then narrow his gaze upon Jayd.

"Will you never learn?" he muttered.

In the blink of an eye, Bale'gor turned back to Jayd and got down on all four before breaking into a lightning fast spring towards her. Opening his jaws, he raised his head and readied his jaws to bite down upon Jayd's head. Just as the undead bit down however, Jayd raised her still attached arm to the undead to allow him to bite down on her forearm instead.

With his fangs digging into Jayd's sleeve, Bale'gor laughed, "Are you aiming to lose another arm girl?" he asked, only to pause at the reflective metal surface just beneath Jayd's sleeve that his fangs were digging into.

With a now shaken gaze, Bale'gor looked Jayd in the eye who stared back with a now more focused glare than before which could be felt through the yellow eyes that illuminated through the black void of her hood.

Despite the undead with his fangs in her arm Jayd raised her stump to the severed limb she still held before releasing it from her grasp. Like a fly to a lamp, the severed arm became drawn to Jayd's stump and with a large spark of green energy her arm repaired along with her sleeve. With a gasp, Bale'gor released his fangs from her arm and leapt backwards away from Jayd.

"After all that I inflicted upon you… you should be dead by now…" Bale'gor snarled as, with a powerful kick from her feet, Jayd swept her two swords up off the ground and back into her hands, "Are you even human?! What ARE you?!"

"I'm just a wandering network rider," Jayd said in a voice devoid of emotion as she popped her green striker die out from her belt and replaced it with her red finisher die, "That's all you need to know."

"FINAL ROLL!" roared the belt as Jayd gave her belt a hard spin and lowered herself into a deep, wide legged stand with both her swords spread out in a pincer like stance. As violent red energy swirled around her blades, the die in her belt came to a halt, "SIX! CRITICAL STRIKE!"

What happened next was something that not even Bale'gor could perceive. One moment, Jayd stood before him and the next she was behind him with her swords crossed over her chest. Feeling all his strength leave his body, Bale'gor smirked as his head lifted clean off from his body as his entire being began to dissolve.

"Sorry Naota..." he muttered to himself as he became dust in the wind and his remains blew away, "looks like this is as far as we go…"

Across town in the darkened third floor hall of the city's hospital, the ring on Naota's finger cracked and crumbled away to dust as Fumiko led both him and Trey in dead silence. It wasn't long before Fumiko came to a halt in front of a single closed door, the two men following suit not a moment later.

Turning back to look at Naota, she then quietly motioned her head to the door causing both Trey and Naota to turn towards it.

Taking in a deep breath, Naota stepped towards the door. "She's in there…" he muttered after a sharp exhale, "isn't she?"

"Go on Naota…" Fumiko told him as she opened the door, allowing the faint beep of a heart monitor to echo out from the room, "there isn't much time."

Naota looked through the door, seeing the bed where his mother lay peacefully asleep. After the slightest stumble forward, Naota caught himself on the doorway before finally making his way forward towards the bed.

As Naota approached his sleeping mother, Trey watched on with a complete loss for words. It was then that a small gasp escaped his lips, reaching into his sweater and pulling out the silver heart shaped necklace he still wore.

Gripping the necklace in his hand, Trey looked towards the bed ridden woman as his gaze sharpened upon her. He took the slightest step forward, only for Fumiko to reach out her hand and grab him by the shoulder.

"That's not going to do much good here… sadly," Fumiko told him.

Trey looked at Fumiko, his eyes shaken as he muttered, "W-Why not?"

"Death is but a part of life we all must face," Fumiko said quietly, removing her hand from Trey, "as is grief."

Within the hospital room, Naota knelt down at his mother's bedside and reached for her cold almost lifeless hand. "Mother…" he muttered to her, "It's me Naota.. I'm here…"

Slowly, but surely, Chikane opened her eyes and turned her head to face her son. After a moment, a smile came to her face, "My boy…" she managed to speak, reaching her trembling hand to cup her son's, "I knew you'd.. Make it…"

"Yes mother, I'm right here," Naota sniffled, his heart aching more and more with each passing second, "I'm going to help you get better… you hear me?"

Chikane's eyes widened ever so slightly, then they closed as a slight chuckle escaped her lips, "My sweet Naota… if you remain as hopeful as you are now…" a single tear ran down her cheek, "it would make me the proudest mother alive…"

"Mom…" Naota breathed, beginning to choke up as he clenched as his mother's hand, "I… I love you…"

Chikane's entire body relaxed, her smile widening as yet another tear ran down her face from her other eye, "I know you do… my son…"

Silence fell over the two as Naota's head slowly lowered onto his mother's bedside, the boy breaking down into an open and vulnerable fitting of tears.

"Fumiko…" Syd's voice called out from behind the Oracle and Trey, the two looking back to see an undamaged Syd in her civilian form standing by a now open window, "is she…"

Fumiko nodded, "Yes…" she told Syd, "she's at peace."

Syd let out a breath, stepping towards the door and looking inside at Naota, "So is the boy… by the appearance of things." Eli's voice called out from Syd's bracelet.

Syd raised her brow at Fumiko, "Is this cause we get rid of the gate keeper that was after him?"

Fumiko shook her head, "No… I do not believe so."

"Then what did it?" Trey asked.

"It's simply because, in spite of everything that happened to him," Fumiko said as she looked Trey in the eye, "that boy learned a lesson he's likely to never forget."

"What lesson was that?" Trey asked quietly.

"You'll only make things worse if you go around making promises…" Fumiko told him as she looked back to the hospital room door, "when you know you can't keep them."

On the other side of town in front of Fumiko's shop lay a single torn up card from Rin's deck. The remains of the card, flipping over as a result of wind and gently rolling into the nearby gutter, was the king of hearts.

**To be continued**

{Insert Ending Theme: "Again" by Beverly}


End file.
